U.S. patent application number 14/960370 was filed with the patent office on 2016-06-16 for methods and systems for generating a digital celebrity map tour guide.
The applicant listed for this patent is Velvet Ropes, Inc.. Invention is credited to Aleksandr Sergeyevich Drogobetski, Aaron Tucker Simmons.
Application Number | 20160171011 14/960370 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56111352 |
Filed Date | 2016-06-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160171011 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Drogobetski; Aleksandr Sergeyevich
; et al. |
June 16, 2016 |
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR GENERATING A DIGITAL CELEBRITY MAP TOUR
GUIDE
Abstract
Systems and methods of creating a tour on a digital celebrity
map are disclosed, including steps to receive a user geolocation;
determine a map area around the user geolocation; retrieve, from a
data repository, celebrity geolocations within the map area,
wherein each celebrity geolocation is associated with at least one
named celebrity, and wherein each of the celebrity geolocations is
associated with a celebrity geolocation type selected from the
group consisting of celebrity real estate property, celebrity
sighting location, and celebrity hotspot; transmit the celebrity
geolocations to the computing appliance, for display on the digital
celebrity map; receive a request to generate a tour to the
celebrity geolocations, wherein the tour starts from the user
geolocation; and in response to the user request, generate for
display on the digital celebrity map, the tour to the celebrity
geolocations.
Inventors: |
Drogobetski; Aleksandr
Sergeyevich; (Playa Del Rey, CA) ; Simmons; Aaron
Tucker; (Playa Del Rey, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Velvet Ropes, Inc. |
Marina Del Rey |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
56111352 |
Appl. No.: |
14/960370 |
Filed: |
December 5, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62091519 |
Dec 13, 2014 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
707/722 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/04842 20130101;
G06F 16/29 20190101; G06Q 50/01 20130101; H04L 67/42 20130101; H04L
67/141 20130101; G06F 16/9537 20190101; G06F 16/248 20190101; G06F
16/9535 20190101; H04L 67/18 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30; H04L 29/08 20060101 H04L029/08; H04L 29/06 20060101
H04L029/06; G06F 3/0484 20060101 G06F003/0484 |
Claims
1. A system for generating a tour on a digital celebrity map, and
for verifying a celebrity sighting event, comprising: a server
connected to a network, the server having access to at least one
processor and a data repository, the server including a
non-transitory physical medium; and a plurality of program codes
stored on the non-transitory physical medium, the program code,
when executed, causing the processor to: establish a client server
connection between the server and a computing appliance operated by
at least one user; receive at least one celebrity sighting event
by: receive a celebrity image from an image source, wherein the
image source is selected from the group consisting of a digital
image source and a user upload; associate the celebrity image with
a first named celebrity; determine a sighting location and a
sighting time associated with the celebrity image, wherein the
celebrity, the sighting location, and the sighting time constitute
a celebrity sighting event, and wherein the celebrity image is
associated with the celebrity sighting event; receive a credibility
rating for the celebrity image; and update a credibility score of
the image source according to the receive credibility rating;
generate a celebrity tour by: receive, from the computing
appliance, a user geolocation; determine a map area around the user
geolocation; retrieve, from the data repository, celebrity
geolocations within the map area, wherein each celebrity
geolocation is associated with at least one named celebrity, and
wherein the celebrity geolocations comprise at least celebrity real
estate properties, celebrity sighting locations, and celebrity
hotspots; transmit the celebrity geolocations to the computing
appliance, for display on the digital celebrity map; receive a
request to generate a tour to the celebrity geolocations, wherein
the tour starts from the user geolocation, and wherein the request
is associated with a request time; and in response to the request,
generate for display on the digital celebrity map, the tour to the
celebrity geolocations; and verify the celebrity sighting event by:
determine whether the sighting location of the celebrity sighting
event is within the map area, and whether the sighting time is
within a given time window around the request time; and in response
to determining that the sighing location is within the map area,
and the sighting time is within a given time window around the
request time, generate a notification of the sighting event to the
at least one user; receive a verification response from the at
least one user, wherein the verification response is associated
with a verification time; and update the credibility score of the
image source according to the verification response, and duration
of time elapsed from the sighting time to the verification
time.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the program code, when executed,
further causes the processor to: receive, from the user, at least
one filtering criterion for filtering the celebrity geolocations,
wherein the at least one filtering criterion is selected from the
group consisting of celebrity status, celebrity active period,
celebrity rating, and celebrity geolocation type, and in response
to receiving the at least one filtering criterion, filter the
celebrity geolocations according to the at least one filter
criterion.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the program code, when executed,
further causes the processor to: receive a user selection of a
travel mode, wherein the determination of the map area around the
user geolocation is scaled according to the selected travel mode,
and wherein the tour is generated according to the selected travel
mode.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein each celebrity geolocation is
associated with an avatar of the at least one named celebrity, for
display on the digital celebrity map as a location marker.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the generated tour includes a
graphical display of navigation directions.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the generated tour includes a
profile for each celebrity geolocation.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the program code, when executed,
further causes the processor to: search digital media to find a
currently-trending celebrity; determine whether the
currently-trending celebrity exists in the data repository; and in
response to determining that the currently-trending celebrity does
not exist in the data repository, add the currently-trending
celebrity to the data repository.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the program code, when executed,
further causes the processor to: determine whether the first named
celebrity exists in the data repository; in response to determining
that the first named celebrity exists in the data repository,
determine whether the image exists in the data repository for the
first named celebrity, wherein the celebrity image is associated
with the first named celebrity in the data repository in response
to determining that the celebrity image does not exist in the data
repository for the celebrity.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the program code, when executed,
further causes the processor to: determine whether the image is
associated with a second named celebrity; in response to
determining that the image is associated with a second named
celebrity, determine whether the second named celebrity exists in
the data repository; and in response to determining that the second
named celebrity does not exist in the data repository, adding the
second named celebrity to the data repository.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the credibility score of the
image source is updated according to the verification response and
the duration of time elapsed from the sighting time to the
verification time through following equations: c [ t ] = 100 ( Y [
t ] Y [ t ] + N [ t ] - 0.5 ) ( r [ t ] ) t , _ ##EQU00002## C [ T
] = C 0 + t = t 0 T c [ t ] , _ ##EQU00002.2## wherein r[t] is a
time-dependent rate of decay, Y[t] and N[t] are numbers of
affirmative and negative verification responses received between
time t-1 and t, including the verification response from the at
least one user, c[t] is a time-dependent credibility update value,
summed over a time elapsed between the sighting time and a response
time for each verification response, C.sub.0 is an initial
credibility score, set to a value between 0 and 100, t.sub.0 is
starting time, T is time at which the credibility score is
computed, and C[T] is an updated credibility score.
11. A method for generating a tour on a digital celebrity map, the
method executable from a non-transitory storage medium storing
executable program code thereon, the method comprising:
establishing a client server connection between a server and a
computing appliance operable by at least one user; receiving at
least one celebrity sighting event by: receiving a celebrity image
from an image source, wherein the image source is selected from the
group consisting of a digital image source and a user upload;
associating the celebrity image with a first named celebrity;
determining a sighting location and a sighting time associated with
the celebrity image, wherein the celebrity, the sighting location,
and the sighting time constitute a celebrity sighting event, and
wherein the celebrity image is associated with the celebrity
sighting event; receiving a credibility rating for the celebrity
image; and updating a credibility score of the image source
according to the receive credibility rating; and generating a
celebrity tour by: receiving, from the computing appliance, a user
geolocation; determining a map area around the user geolocation;
retrieving, from the data repository, celebrity geolocations within
the map area, wherein each celebrity geolocation is associated with
at least one named celebrity, and wherein the celebrity
geolocations comprise at least celebrity real estate properties,
celebrity sighting locations, and celebrity hotspots; transmitting
the celebrity geolocations to the computing appliance, for display
on the digital celebrity map; receiving a request to generate a
tour to the celebrity geolocations, wherein the tour starts from
the user geolocation; and in response to the user request,
generating for display on the digital celebrity map, the tour to
the celebrity geolocations.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving, from the
user, at least one filtering criterion for filtering the celebrity
geolocations, wherein the at least one filtering criterion is
selected from the group consisting of celebrity status, celebrity
active period, celebrity rating, and celebrity geolocation type;
and in response to receiving the at least one filtering criterion,
filtering the celebrity geolocations according to the at least one
filter criterion.
13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving a user
selection of a travel mode, wherein the determination of the map
area around the user geolocation is scaled according to the
selected travel mode, and wherein the tour is generated according
to the selected travel mode.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein each celebrity geolocation is
associated with an avatar of the at least one named celebrity, for
display on the digital celebrity map as a location marker.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the generated tour includes a
graphical display of navigation directions.
16. The method of claim 11, wherein the generated tour includes a
profile for each celebrity geolocation.
17. The method of claim 11, further comprising: searching digital
media to find a currently-trending celebrity; determining whether
the currently-trending celebrity exists in the data repository; and
in response to determining that the currently-trending celebrity
does not exist in the data repository, adding the
currently-trending celebrity to the data repository.
18. The method of claim 11, further comprising: determining whether
the first named celebrity exists in the data repository; in
response to determining that the first named celebrity exists in
the data repository, determining whether the image exists in the
data repository for the first named celebrity, wherein the
celebrity image is associated with the first named celebrity in the
data repository in response to determining that the celebrity image
does not exist in the data repository for the celebrity.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: determining whether
the image is associated with a second named celebrity; in response
to determining that the image is associated with a second named
celebrity, determining whether the second named celebrity exists in
the data repository; and in response to determining that the second
named celebrity does not exist in the data repository, adding the
second named celebrity to the data repository.
20. The method of claim 10, further comprising: verifying the
celebrity sighting event by: determining whether the sighting
location of the celebrity sighting event is within the map area,
and whether the sighting time is within a given time window around
a request time associated with the request, in response to
determining that the sighing location is within the map area, and
the sighting time is within a given time window around the request
time, generating a notification of the sighting event to the at
least one user; receiving a verification response from the at least
one user, wherein the verification response is associated with a
verification time; and updating the credibility score of the image
source according to the verification response, and duration of time
elapsed from the sighting time to the verification time, wherein
the credibility score of the image source is updated according to
the verification response and the duration of time elapsed from the
sighting time to the verification time through following equations:
c [ t ] = 100 ( Y [ t ] Y [ t ] + N [ t ] - 0.5 ) ( r [ t ] ) t , _
##EQU00003## C [ T ] = C 0 + t = t 0 T c [ t ] , _ ##EQU00003.2##
wherein r[t] is a time-dependent rate of decay, Y[t] and N[t] are
numbers of affirmative and negative verification responses received
between time t-1 and t, including the verification response from
the at least one user, c[t] is a time-dependent credibility update
value, summed over a time elapsed between the sighting time and a
response time for each verification response, C.sub.0 is an initial
credibility score, set to a value between 0 and 100, t.sub.0 is
starting time, T is time at which the credibility score is
computed, and C[T] is an updated credibility score.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a non-provisional of and claims the
benefit of provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/091,519, filed
on Dec. 13, 2014, and entitled "SMART PHONE APPLICATION THAT IS A
DIGITAL CELEBRITY MAP TOUR GUIDE FOR THOSE VISITING ANY LOCATION
WHERE A CELEBRITY MAY RESIDE," the entire disclosure of which is
hereby incorporated in its entirety herein.
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEDRESS
[0002] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material which is subject to copyright protection. This patent
document may show and/or describe matter which is or may become
tradedress of the owner. The copyright and tradedress owner has no
objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent
disclosure as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and
tradedress rights whatsoever.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Embodiments of the present invention broadly relate to
systems and methods for creating an interactive digital celebrity
map tour guide. More particularly, embodiments of the present
invention relate to displaying and generating a customized tour to
celebrity places, providing corresponding celebrity information,
and facilitating the reporting and notification of celebrity
sightings. A digital celebrity map system thus implemented enables
tourists or sightseers to navigate to celebrity-related
attractions, to easily access associated celebrity information, and
to interact with other fans within a celebrity-inspired social
network.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The statements in this section may serve as a background to
help understand the invention and its application and users, but
may not constitute prior art.
[0005] As the world economy grows and international tourism rapidly
expands, there has been a recent explosion in the celebrity tour
business where many tours take celebrity seekers to visit
residences owned and hotspots frequented by celebrities past and
present. Celebrity-oriented van and bus tours trade on the
ever-growing interests in the private lives of celebrities and the
fantasies of serendipitous celebrity encounters. In places like
Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and New York City, visitors pay a hefty
fee for roofless bus tours that last for only an hour or two,
gawking at the luxuriousness of celebrity estates and trying to
catch stars living or working in their natural surroundings.
[0006] On a typical celebrity bus tour, livery drivers often serve
as the voice tour guides as well, blasting news, stories,
anecdotes, and gossips over a loud speaker or individual
headphones, building and delivering the impression that celebrities
are just around the corner. One issue with such bus tours is the
lack of quality control on the content of the tour. There is no
guarantee that residences or other sighting locations featured on a
tour are ever associated with a celebrity, and false advertisements
are rarely investigated. Also, unless regular news updates are
provided to tour guides, information they deliver becomes
unreliable over time. In addition, for group bus tours, visitors
are not able to pick or choose which celebrity locations to visit.
Instead, they are forced into inflexible tour durations at the tour
operator's itinerary, often unable to stay at any particular
location of interest for enough time to capture a good photograph
or to look up the address or history of the place they have just
visited.
[0007] An alternative to celebrity bus tours is to purchase a
"celebrity star map," a physical map that contains a list of
hundreds of celebrity names and associated residences and hotspot
locations. While star maps allow visitors to tour at their own
paces, such maps are not always geographically accurate, and
addresses often become obsolete, as real estate properties
frequently change hands among the wealthy. Moreover, for those who
want to visit sighting locations where celebrities have been
spotted and hotspots where celebrities frequent, a physical map
that has not been recently updated becomes useless when the
celebrity of interest moves. More importantly, navigating with a
physical map filled with hundreds of names may not be as obvious as
one might expect. Confusion can easily arise for those lacking
navigational skills. With a large number of celebrities listed in
very small font, visitors may further have a hard time determining
which locations to navigate to and how to optimize the tour, under
their own constraints on time and transportation modes. Lastly,
many times even when visitors successfully find a celebrity
residence, they may come to see poor views blocked by privacy
shrubbery or gates with long driveways.
[0008] While paper maps including paper celebrity maps are still
popular for their portability and general reliability, digital maps
have boomed over the past decade with the advent of ever more
accurate positioning systems and the availability of mobile
devices. Dedicated vehicle GPS devices, and mapping applications on
mobile devices are almost ubiquitous nowadays. Nonetheless, in the
field of celebrity tours, no integrated mapping system exists to
provide customized, self-guided tours, to allow users to read
corresponding celebrity biographies and news, to browse celebrity
real estate and hotspot profiles, or to receive live celebrity
sighting updates. Likewise, while social networking and media
websites such as Twitter are widely available for users to search
for celebrity sighting information within their proximity, such
passive searches do not, in any sense, maximize the users'
probability of sighting the celebrity themselves. For those who
wait for hours just to get a glimpse of Justin Bieber, knowing that
they have just missed the pop idol from one block away could be
devastating news.
[0009] Therefore, in view of the aforementioned difficulties, there
is an unsolved need to provide to celebrity seekers, self-guided
yet fully customized and curated celebrity tours, with periodic or
live updates to ensure associated celebrity information, including
sighting information, is accurate and up to date.
[0010] It is against this background that various embodiments of
the present invention were developed.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Systems and methods are provided for creating a digital
celebrity map tour guide. More specifically, one embodiment of the
present invention is a method for creating a tour on a digital
celebrity map, the method comprising steps to establish a client
server connection between a server and a computing appliance used
by a user, to receive a user geolocation from the computing
appliance, to determine a map area around the user geolocation, and
the retrieve, from the data repository, celebrity geolocations
within the map area, wherein each celebrity geolocation is
associated with at least one named celebrity, and wherein each
celebrity geolocation is associated with a celebrity geolocation
type selected from the group consisting of celebrity real estate
property, celebrity sighting location, and celebrity hotspot. The
method further includes steps to transmit the celebrity
geolocations to the computing appliance, for display on the digital
celebrity map, to receive a request to generate a tour to the
celebrity geolocations, wherein the tour starts from the user
geolocation, and to generate the tour to the celebrity geolocations
for display on the digital celebrity map, in response to the
request.
[0012] In some embodiments of the present invention, the method
further includes steps to receive, from the user, at least one
filtering criterion for filtering the celebrity geolocations,
wherein filtering criteria include celebrity name, celebrity
status, celebrity rating, celebrity geolocation type, and distance
of a celebrity geolocation from the user geolocation. In response
to receiving the at lest one filter criterion, the celebrity
geolocations are filtered accordingly to the at least one filter
criterion.
[0013] In some embodiments, the method further includes steps to
receive a user selection of a travel mode, wherein the map area
around the user geolocation is determined according to the selected
travel mode, and wherein the tour is generated according to the
selected travel mode.
[0014] In some embodiments, each celebrity geolocation is
associated with an avatar of the at least one named celebrity, for
display on the digital celebrity map as a location marker. In some
other embodiments, the generated tour includes a graphical display
of navigation directions. In yet other embodiments, the generated
tour includes a profile for each celebrity geolocation.
[0015] In some embodiments, the method further includes steps to
search digital media to find a currently-trending celebrity, to
determine whether the currently-trending celebrity found exists in
the data repository, and to add the currently-trending celebrity to
the data repository in response to determining that he or she does
not exist in the data repository.
[0016] In some embodiments, the method further includes steps to
search digital image sources to find an image associated with a
celebrity, and to determine whether the celebrity exists in the
data repository. In response to determining that the celebrity
exists in the data repository, the method further includes steps to
determine whether the image exists in the data repository for the
celebrity, and in response to a negative decision, associate the
image with the celebrity in the data repository. In some other
embodiments, the method further includes steps to determine whether
the image is associated with a celebrity sighting. In response to
determining that the image is indeed associated with a celebrity
sighting, the method further determines whether the celebrity
sighting exists in the data repository, and in response to
determining that the celebrity sighting does not exist in the data
repository, adding the celebrity sighting to the data repository.
In yet some other embodiments, the method further includes steps to
receive a credibility rating for the image, and update a
credibility score of the digital image source according to the
received credibility rating.
[0017] In another aspect, the present invention is a
non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing executable
instructions, which when executed by a processor, causes the
processor to perform a process of creating a tour on a digital
celebrity map in a client-server environment, the instructions
causing the processor to perform the aforementioned steps.
[0018] In another aspect, the present invention is a system for
creating a tour on a digital celebrity map, the system comprising a
user device having a process, a display, and a first memory; a
server comprising a second memory and a data repository; a
telecommunications-link between the user device and the server; and
a plurality of computer codes embodied on the memories of the user
device and the server, the plurality of computer codes which when
executed causes the server and the user-device to execute a process
comprising the aforementioned steps.
[0019] In yet another aspect, the present invention is a
computerized server comprising at least one processor, a memory,
and a plurality of computer codes embodied on the memory, the
plurality of computer codes which when executed causes the
processor to execute a process comprising the aforementioned
steps.
[0020] Yet other aspects of the present invention include the
methods, processes, and algorithms comprising the steps described
herein, and also include the processes and modes of operation of
the systems and servers described herein. Other aspects and
embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the
detailed description of the invention when read in conjunction with
the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] Embodiments of the present invention described herein are
exemplary, and not restrictive. Embodiments will now be described,
by way of examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0022] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network configuration for
practicing one embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a server for creating a
celebrity map tour guide, according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user device where the
invention may be practiced, according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0025] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing a method of generating a
celebrity map tour from a user geolocation, according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 5 is an exemplary screenshot of a menu page of a user
application implementing one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0027] FIG. 6 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity places page
containing a celebrity map, according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0028] FIG. 7 is an exemplary screenshot of a tours page for
customizing a celebrity tour, according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0029] FIG. 8 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity places page
where a tour path is displayed graphically, according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0030] FIG. 9 is an exemplary screenshot of a filter page for
filtering available celebrity places for a celebrity tour,
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0031] FIG. 10 is an exemplary screenshot of a full page display of
a celebrity map tour, according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0032] FIG. 11 is an exemplary screenshot of a navigation
directions page, according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0033] FIGS. 12A and 12B are exemplary screenshots of a selected
celebrity place page, according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0034] FIG. 13 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity profile
page, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0035] FIG. 14 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity homes
page, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0036] FIG. 15 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity's hotspots
page, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0037] FIG. 16 is an exemplary screenshot of a favorites page,
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0038] FIG. 17 is an exemplary screenshot of a sightings page,
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0039] FIG. 18 is an exemplary screenshot of a selected sighting
page, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0040] FIGS. 19A, 19B, 19C, and 19D are exemplary screenshots for
reporting celebrity sightings within a system implemented according
to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0041] FIG. 20 is an exemplary screenshot of a hotspots page,
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0042] FIGS. 21A and 21B are exemplary screenshots of a
notifications page, according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0043] FIG. 22 is a flow diagram for adding new celebrities to a
celebrity database, according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0044] FIG. 23 is a flow diagram for adding new images to an images
database, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0045] FIG. 24 is a flowchart for adding celebrity sighting from
digital media sources to a sightings database, according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0046] FIG. 25 is a flowchart for generating push notifications to
a user when a celebrity sighting of interest to the user occurs,
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0047] FIGS. 26A and 26B are a flowchart for user-generated
celebrity sighting report verification, according to one embodiment
of the present invention.
[0048] FIG. 27 is a set of exemplary screenshots showing several
pages for celebrity rating, according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0049] FIG. 28 is an exemplary screenshot of a client application
interface on non-limited displays, implemented according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0050] FIG. 29 is another exemplary screenshot of a client
application interface on non-limited displays, implemented
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Definitions
[0051] Some illustrative definitions are provided to assist in
understanding the present invention, but these definitions are not
to be read as restricting the scope of the present invention. The
terms may be used in the form of nouns, verbs, or adjective, within
the scope of the definitions.
[0052] "Celebrity" refers to a person well known to the public, or
those who are often associated with fame and attention in the
media. Groups of people, animals, or even fictional characters can
also achieve celebrity status. Some examples of celebrities
include, but are not limited to, entertainment stars, pro-athletes,
artists, musicians, models, fashionistas, political figures,
royalty, best-selling authors, prominent scientists, and
international entrepreneurs. A legacy, legend, or legendary
celebrity is one who is deceased.
[0053] "User geolocation" is a geographical location associated
with a user of the system, according to some embodiments of the
present invention. A user geolocation may be explicitly given by
the user, as a street address, a named place, a local landmark, or
a postal address or postal code. A user geolocation may also be
determined automatically by a Global Positioning System (GPS)
device, or other types of devices, modules, or software capable of
determining the associated geographical location through
triangulation or similar types of algorithms. A user geolocation
may be represented by a street address, a named place, a local
landmark, a postal address or postal code, or a set of geographic
coordinates as determined by a GPS system.
[0054] "Celebrity geolocation" is a geographical location
associated with a celebrity within a system implemented according
to some embodiments of the present invention. A celebrity
geolocation associated with a particular celebrity may refer to any
locations or places where the celebrity may have lived, worked,
visited, or even mentioned during shows, interviews, or in other
types of media, including social media. Some exemplary types of
celebrity geolocations include residences and other real estate
properties owned or leased by the celebrity, sighting locations
where the celebrity has been seen, and hotspots such as gyms and
restaurants that the celebrity frequents. A celebrity geolocation
may be associated with a street address, a named place, a local
landmark, a postal address or a postal code, and may be determined
automatically by a global positioning system. A celebrity
geolocation with the same address or geographical coordinates may
be associated with multiple celebrities. A celebrity geolocation
may also be referred to as a "celebrity location" or a "celebrity
place."
[0055] "Celebrity sighting" is the event where a celebrity is seen
by one or more members of the public. A celebrity sighting may also
be referred to as a "celebrity spotting." Generally, a celebrity
sighting is associated with a celebrity name, a sighting location,
and a sighting time.
[0056] "Celebrity hotspots" are popular places that celebrities
frequently visit, and where celebrity sightings often take place.
Some exemplary hotspots include hotels, bars, clubs, lounges,
restaurants, fashion shops, gyms, jogging routes, etc. Celebrity
hotspots may further refer to locations where celebrities have made
appearances, or filmed movies or shows. A celebrity hotspot may be
a celebrity sighting location concurrently.
[0057] "Tour" or "curated tour" is a route that traverses one or
more celebrity geolocations, with navigation directions provided in
a sequential order starting from a given location. Each designated
celebrity place on a tour may be annotated by associated profile
information, either for the real estate property itself, or for a
celebrity owner or celebrity visitors.
Overview
[0058] In the following description, for purposes of explanation,
numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a
thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent,
however, to one skilled in the art that the invention can be
practiced without these specific details. In other instances,
structures, devices, activities, and methods are shown using
schematics, use cases, and/or flow diagrams in order to avoid
obscuring the invention. Although the following description
contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone
skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations and/or
alterations to suggested details are within the scope of the
present invention. Similarly, although many of the features of the
present invention are described in terms of each other, or in
conjunction with each other, one skilled in the art will appreciate
that many of these features can be provided independently of other
features. Accordingly, this description of the invention is set
forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing
limitations upon, the invention.
[0059] Broadly, embodiments of the present invention relate to
systems and methods for generating an interactive digital celebrity
map tour guide, thus enabling celebrity seekers, or users of the
system, to visit celebrity places of interest based on their
preferences, and to report and receive notifications on celebrity
sightings. A digital celebrity map may be displayed through a
client application on a user device such as a smart phone, a
tablet, or a personal computer. On the other hand, celebrity
related databases, and tour generation or sighting verification
algorithms may reside on one or more dedicated servers, possibly
hosted in the cloud. Embodiments of the present invention allow a
user of the system to search for and navigate to celebrity places
or geolocations such as residences, sighting locations, and
hotspots. The user may bookmark or favorite celebrities and
celebrity geolocations, and browse through celebrity profiles as
well as lists of different types of celebrity geolocations. In
addition, a celebrity-inspired social network platform is provided
for users to check-in at celebrity locations they visit, to report,
confirm, or verify celebrity sightings, and to receive sighting
notifications in real-time. Users may also rate celebrities or
participate in other celebrity-focused polls.
[0060] More particularly, in a system implemented according to one
embodiment of the present invention, a user's own position or
geolocation is placed on a digital map displayed through a client
application installed on a user device. Celebrity places or
geolocations within a map area surrounding the user geolocation are
then retrieved from celebrity databases hosted on a server, and
displayed accordingly. If celebrities associated with the displayed
celebrity geolocations are unfamiliar to the user, the user may
choose to browse associated celebrity profiles or real estate
listings to obtain more information.
[0061] Once celebrity geolocations are displayed in the celebrity
map, a user may choose to follow one of several curated or guided
tours. Such curated tours may be pre-defined, or customized
according to filtering criteria selected by the user. For example,
the user may wish to see the most number of celebrity homes within
the proximity of his or her own geolocation. Alternatively, the
user may wish to create a personalized tour of all types of
celebrity geolocations associated with a selected set of favorite
celebrities. Tour generation algorithms located in the server send
tours generated according to user-selected or default filtering
criteria to the user device, and navigation directions may be drawn
on the map directly or described textually as step-by-step
instructions. Some exemplary filtering criteria include celebrity
name, celebrity status, celebrity rating, celebrity geolocation
type, and distance of a celebrity geolocation from the user
geolocation.
[0062] In addition to displaying celebrity geolocations and
generating customized celebrity tours, the inventors of the present
invention have created methods and systems that allow users to
check-in at celebrity geolocations, thus recording a user history
of being physically present at popular celebrity spots. The user
may further browse through lists of recent celebrity sightings and
report their own sightings of celebrities, where such sighting
reports may comprise images and comments. User-generated sighting
reports may be cross-checked or verified by other users, where each
user may be associated with a trust or credibility score, a
periodically updated metric measuring how likely a celebrity
sighting reported by the user is credible. Celebrity sighting
reports are also pulled from digital media sources available on the
Internet. Celebrity sighting reports from both digital media
sources and from users of the system are collected by the central
server, and notifications may be broadcasted in real-time to remind
users of potential celebrity sightings near them.
[0063] Apart from celebrity sighting reports, the inventors of the
present invention have also created methods and systems to rate
celebrities in terms of their general star power, popularity,
influence, talent, bankability, or even notoriety, to create
real-time celebrity standings based on both current and historical
data. Such a celebrity rating system enables the user to pick up on
new and upcoming stars, to find celebrities who have been popular
for extended periods of times, and to search for celebrities who
are in trend for one or more particular reasons.
[0064] To ensure celebrity maps, curated celebrity tours, celebrity
sightings, and celebrity ratings thus provided to the user are as
accurate and timely as possible, embodiments of the present
invention periodically extract celebrity-related news from a
diverse selection of digital media sources and social networking
websites to initiate, update, and maintain various data
repositories. For example, one feature of the present invention is
its ability to plug into social media APIs such as Google News API
to search for reports of celebrity sightings and add them as
historical sightings to celebrity repositories.
[0065] VELVET ROPES is a trademark name carrying embodiments of the
present invention, and hence, the aforementioned trademark name may
be interchangeably used in the specification and drawing to refer
to the products/services offered by embodiments of the present
invention. The term VELVET ROPES may also be used in this
specification to describe the overall system and processes of the
invention, as well as the company that provides such services. With
reference to the figures, embodiments of the present invention are
now described in detail.
System Architecture
[0066] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a network configuration
100 for practicing one embodiment of the present invention. Digital
media source 110 may be connected to a VELVET ROPES server or
platform 150 through communication link or network 115. Digital
media source 110 includes both traditional media outlets and social
media websites. Some exemplary digital media sources include, but
are not limited to, TMZ, JustJared, PerezHilton, Facebook, Twitter,
Photobucket, Flickr, and Instagram. VELVET ROPES server 150
periodically retrieves celebrity news and other celebrity-related
information from digital media source 110, to initiate, update, and
maintain its celebrity data repositories.
[0067] Moreover, VELVET ROPES server 150 receives user requests and
uploads from VELVET ROPES client applications installed on user
devices 120 and 130. In return, VELVET ROPES server 150 provides
celebrity maps, generated celebrity tours, as well as other related
information in the downlink direction. Mobile user devices 120 are
connected to VELVET ROPES server or platform 150 through
communication link 125, while personal computers 130 are connected
to VELVET ROPES server or platform 150 through communication link
135. A mobile user device may be a smart phone, a tablet, a
portable GPS navigator, a dedicated hand-held device, or a wearable
device, such as a watch or smart glasses. A personal computer may
refer to a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a user terminal.
Communication links 115, 125, 135 may be wireless or wired, and may
employ technologies and protocols comprising Ethernet technology,
Local Area network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), an optical
network, and the like.
[0068] More specifically, VELVET ROPES server 150 is a platform for
storing celebrity databases, for providing navigation directions
and curated tours to user devices, and for providing celebrity
related information and notifications to user devices, possibly in
real-time. In some embodiments, VELVET ROPES Server 150 is a
distributed system. For example, databases and processing
algorithms may be located on different devices, and tour
generation, sighting verification, and celebrity rating may also be
implemented separately. Alternatively, different celebrity data
repositories may be implemented to serve users from different
geographical areas separately. A Hollywood server and a New York
City server may each contain distinctive celebrity information in
addition to shared data and algorithms. In some embodiments, VELVET
ROPES server 150 is hosted in the cloud. In some embodiments,
VELVET ROPES server 150 may be partially or fully implemented
directly on a user device, such as a mobile user device or a
personal computer. Although local installations of the VELVET ROPES
server may remove remote connectivity requirements in the network
configuration 100, local installations of the VELVET ROPES server
150 may be subjected to additional software or hardware
constraints.
[0069] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram 200 of a VELVET ROPES server
250 for creating a celebrity map tour guide, according to one
embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, VELVET
ROPES server 250 comprises a processor 260, a memory 270 that
stores program code implementing the invention, and data repository
280 containing linked databases. In some other embodiments, VELVET
ROPES server or platform 250 may be alternatively hosted in the
cloud, instead of being implemented as a dedicated server. VELVET
ROPES server 250 is responsible for retrieving celebrity news and
other related celebrity information from digital media 210 to
update and maintain data repository 280. VELVET ROPES server 250
further receives user uploads and requests from user device 220,
while also providing mapping information, navigation directions,
curated tours, celebrity related information, and notifications to
user device 220. In some embodiments, VELVET ROPES server 250 also
provides user-reported celebrity information including sighting
information to digital media 210. For example, user-reported
celebrity sightings that have been verified or confirmed may be
posted by the VELVET ROPES system to a social media platform such
as Twitter.
[0070] Data repository 280 within VELVET ROPES server 250 is
comprised of multiple databases, each individually indexed and
organized according to the type of contents contained, and all
inter-related or linked through celebrity identities or other key
values. Four exemplary databases shown in this particular
embodiment of the invention are celebrities database 282, celebrity
geolocations database 284, sightings database 286, and images
database 288. In some embodiments, data repository 280 may further
include a user database for storing user information and comments,
an image source database for storing image metadata including
photographer or publisher names, a ratings database for storing
celebrity rating information, and other similar databases for
organizing relevant celebrity-related information.
[0071] Celebrity database 282 contains records or profiles of
celebrities past and present. A celebrity refers to a person well
known to the public, or those who are often associated with fame
and attention in the media. Groups of people, animals, or even
fictional characters can also achieve celebrity status. Some
examples of celebrities include, but are not limited to,
entertainment stars, pro-athletes, artists, musicians, models,
fashionistas, political figures, royalty, best-selling authors,
prominent scientists, and international entrepreneurs. A legacy,
legend, or legendary celebrity is one who is deceased. A celebrity
profile may contain any personal and/or professional information
regarding a given celebrity. For instance, a celebrity profile may
include information on the celebrity's early life, career, personal
life, filmography, awards received, and future projects. Such
celebrity profiles may be stored explicitly within celebrity
database 282, or may be linked through celebrity database 282 to
some external digital media source 210, such as Wikipedia.
Furthermore, celebrity profiles may include real estate properties
currently or previously owned by the celebrity. One of such real
estate properties may be identified as a primary residence.
[0072] Celebrity geolocations database 284 contains different types
of celebrity geolocations or places, each linked with one or more
celebrities within celebrities database 282. A celebrity
geolocation is a geographical location associated with one or more
celebrities. A celebrity geolocation associated with a particular
celebrity may refer to any geographical locations where the
celebrity may have lived, worked, visited, or even mentioned during
shows, interviews, or in other types of media, including social
media. Some exemplary celebrity geolocations include residences and
other types of real estate properties owned or leased by the
celebrity, sighting locations where the celebrity has been seen,
and hotspots that the celebrity frequents. Celebrity hotspots are
popular places that a celebrity frequently visits, and where
celebrity sightings often take place. Some exemplary celebrity
hotspots include hotels, bars, clubs, lounges, restaurants, fashion
shops, and gyms. Celebrity hotspots may further refer to locations
where celebrities have made appearances, or filmed movies or shows.
In other words, a celebrity hotspot may also be a celebrity
sighting location. Each celebrity geolocation is associated with
either an explicit address, or a set of geographical coordinates
that can identify the physical location or position of the place.
In addition, depending on its type, each celebrity geolocation may
be associated with different categories of profile information. For
example, a celebrity residence record may be associated with one or
more celebrities who have been past or present owners or tenants,
and may further contain information such as costs of the residence
during past transaction, current listing price, last purchase
price, monthly mortgage based on last purchase price, year the
residence was built or remodeled, number of bathrooms and bedrooms
contained, current realtor, descriptions of unique and
distinguishing interior features, and even any urban legends
connected to the place. On the other hand, a celebrity sighting
location may be associated with a list of sighting records stored
in sightings database 286, each containing at least a celebrity
name and a sighting time. A celebrity sighting location may also be
associated with summary statistics such as the number of distinct
celebrity sightings that has occurred as this location, and any
additional trivia information on the location itself. Similarly, a
celebrity geolocation record for a celebrity hotspot may be linked
to multiple celebrities within celebrities database 282, while also
containing information on the total number of visits each
associated celebrity has paid to the place.
[0073] As previously discussed, sightings database 286 contains
records of celebrity sightings, or celebrity spottings. A celebrity
sighting is an event where a celebrity is seen by one or more
members of the public. Each celebrity sighting within sightings
database 286 is associated with at least a celebrity name, a
sighting location, and a sighting time. In some embodiments, a
celebrity sighting may also be associated with the original
reporting source of the sighting, images of and comments on the
sighting, news reports or reviews on the event, or any other
graphical or textual information relevant to the sighting
event.
[0074] Images database 288 contains images of celebrities,
celebrity geolocations, and celebrity sightings. Images database
288 may further contain user uploaded avatars. Images stored in
images database 288 may be obtained by VELVET ROPES server 250
through image retrieval algorithms from different types of digital
media source 210, or by user uploads through user device 220.
Images thus organized may further include image metadata such as
when the image was taken, name of celebrity captured, name of the
photographer, publisher, or the user who has uploaded the image,
and a classification for image content and characteristics. For
example, one classification scheme may categorize an image into a
portrait image of a celebrity, a sighting image, an inside view of
a celebrity residence, or a panorama view of a celebrity hotspot.
Another classification scheme may categorize images according to
its size, resolution, and the type of camera used.
[0075] Although not shown explicitly in schematic diagram 200,
celebrities database 282, celebrity geolocations database 284,
sightings database 286, and images database 288 are linked and may
be managed concurrently by a database management system, possibly
implemented through processor 260 and memory 270. For example, real
estate properties stored in celebrity geolocations database 284 are
each identified with one or more celebrities within celebrity
database 282. Celebrities database 282 may also contain relational
tables linking past and present owners and tenants to the same
house within celebrity geolocations database 284. As an explicit
example, if Christina Aguilera used to live at one particular
residence but Steve Hermann lives there now instead, celebrities
database 282 should be capable of providing such information to a
user who is browsing this particular celebrity geolocation. In
other words, when examining a particular celebrity residence, the
user should be able to find out who lives there now, and who used
to live there, while when searching for a particular celebrity, the
user should be able to find both current and former residences for
the celebrity.
[0076] Although shown as separate entities within FIG. 2, in some
embodiments, one or several databases within data repository 280
may be logically merged and implemented jointly. On the other hand,
when VELVET ROPES server 250 is hosted in the cloud, data
repository 280 may be physical distributed across multiple devices,
with individual databases residing on separate storage mediums,
while still linked logically regardless of their physical
locations.
[0077] FIG. 3 is an embodiment of a user device 320 wherein the
invention may be practiced. In this particular embodiment, user
device 320 comprises a processor 330, a memory 340 containing a
VELVET ROPES client application 342 and an operating system 344,
and at least one input/output device 325. User device 320 is
connected through a wired or wireless network connection 355 to
VELVET ROPES server 350. User device 320 may also be referred to as
a client device, a computing device, a computing appliance, or a
user-operated device. It is generally in the form of a laptop, a
desktop, a tablet, a smartphone, or the like. In some embodiments,
VELVET ROPES client application 342 is a plug-in or add-on to
existing digital map applications instead of a standalone
application. VELVET ROPES client application 342 provides a user
interface to users of the VELVET ROPES system to access services
provided by the present invention.
Digital Celebrity Map and Celebrity Tour Generation
[0078] FIG. 4 is a user flow diagram 400 showing a method of
generating a celebrity tour based on a user geolocation. A user
geolocation is a geographical location associated with a user of
the VELVET ROPES system. A user geolocation may be explicitly given
by the user, through a VELVET ROPES client application located on a
user device, as a street address, a local landmark, or a postal
address, or the like. A user geolocation may also be determined
automatically by a GPS module on the user device, or any other
types of modules, devices, or algorithms capable of determining
geographical locations through triangulation or similar positioning
algorithms. Alternatively, the locator may reside on a VELVET ROPES
server 250, which receives approximate address inputs or location
information from the user device, and further processes such
information to resolve the user geolocation. A tour, curated tour,
or tour guide is a route that traverses one or more celebrity
geolocations, with navigation directions provided in a sequential
order starting from a given location. Each designated celebrity
place on a tour may be annotated by associated profile information,
either for the real estate property itself, or for a celebrity
owner or celebrity visitors.
[0079] Once a VELVET ROPES server 250 receives or resolves a user
geolocation at step 420, the VELVET ROPES system automatically
determines a map area around the given user geolocation at step
430. In some embodiments, the map area has a default radius around
the given user geolocation, customized according to the display
interface and display scale of the user device. In other
embodiments, the map area is determined according to user selected
travel modes. Celebrity geolocations within the map area are
subsequently retrieved from VELVET ROPES data repository 280 at
step 440, and transmitted to the user device at step 450, for
display in graphical or textual form on the user device through a
VELVET ROPES client application 342. Celebrity geolocations may be
pre-filtered by VELVET ROPES server 250 or VELVET ROPES application
342 to ensure the celebrity map display is legible. Once a user
selects a set of celebrity geolocations to visit, a request for a
tour is received by VELVET ROPES server 250 at step 460. A tour is
generated subsequently at step 470, and the overall process
terminates at step 480. The generated celebrity tour may be sent to
and displayed on the user device, so that the user may follow
corresponding navigation directions to visit celebrity geolocations
of interest to them.
[0080] In some embodiments of the present invention, VELVET ROPES
server 250 comprises routing or tour generation algorithms that
create a best tour path from the user geolocation through multiple
celebrity geolocation destinations. Such algorithms determine
optimal routes with respect to some predetermined metrics such as
distance or travel time, subject to constraints on transportation
modes and traffic conditions. An optimal tour path for driving may
differ from an optimal tour path for biking or walking, depending
on elevation changes and preferred road conditions. In such
embodiment, mapping data may be stored internally, or external to
the VELVET ROPES system. In some other embodiments, VELVET ROPES
server 250 interfaces with external mapping APIs maintained by
professional mapping service providers to obtain optimal tour
paths.
[0081] Although not shown explicitly in FIG. 4, in some embodiments
of the present invention, the method of generating a celebrity tour
further comprises steps to receive a report of a celebrity sighting
from a user, to determine whether a credibility score of the user
is above a threshold, and if so, add the received celebrity
sighting to the VELVET ROPES data repository as an unverified
sighting. In some other embodiments, the method of generating a
celebrity tour further comprises steps to send a verification
request to multiple users with an area around the location of the
celebrity sighting, to receive one or more responses to the
verification request from the multiple users, and to update the
credibility score of the reporting user according to the received
responses to the verification request. In yet some other
embodiments, the method of generating a celebrity tour further
comprises steps to receive an updated user geolocation, to update
the map area according to the updated user geolocation, to
determine whether at least one celebrity geolocation exists within
the updated map area, and if so, to transmit a notification to the
user.
[0082] FIG. 5 is an exemplary screenshot of a menu page 500 for a
VELVET ROPES client application 342, according to one embodiment of
the present invention. Menu page 500 may be a home page
personalized for the user, after the user successfully logs into
the system.
[0083] Menu page 500 includes a user information panel 510, a links
panel 520, a quick access panel 530, a global settings option 550,
and an exit option 560. User information panel 510 displays full
user name 512, username or handle 514, user avatar 518, and edit
option 516. Similar to general social networks, username or handle
514 can be used to call out, mention, or follow the user, to send
the user a message, or to link to the user's profile and favorites.
In some embodiments, a hyperlink with username 514 leads to a
separate display page where public user profile can be viewed, thus
allowing users with similar celebrity preferences to find and
befriend each other if desired. User avatar 518 is a user-uploaded
image, and may be used as a map marker to indicate a user
geolocation in a digital celebrity map. Edit option 516 may link to
a separate page for user information update and verification. In
some embodiments where a user can access the VELVET ROPES system
without having an account or explicitly logging in, user
information panel 510 may further include options for retrieving
help, for signing up for service, and for logging into the
service.
[0084] Links panel 520 provides hyperlinks 521 to a celebrity
places page, 522 to a favorites page, 523 to a sightings page, 524
to a hotspots page, and 525 to a notifications page, each of which
will be described in more detail hereafter with respect to
subsequent figures.
[0085] Quick access panel 530 facilitates user check-in and
sighting reports. In some embodiments, invocation of hyperlink
option 531 leads to a list of places where the user has previously
checked-in. Each check-in may be associated with a time,
geolocation, an image, or user comments. In this particular
embodiment, the user has checked in at 21 places. Similarly,
invocation of hyperlink option 533 may lead to a list of celebrity
sightings the user has reported, each with associated time,
location, celebrity name, or images and comments. In this
particular embodiments, the user has reported 31 celebrity
sightings. Additionally, invocating option 532 allows the user to
check in at his or her current location, while invocating option
534 allows the user to report a current celebrity sighting.
[0086] Global settings option 550 and exit option 560 are general
purpose setting configuration options. In some embodiments, global
settings option 550 brings up a settings page for the VELVET ROPES
client application, allowing the user to modify general preferences
such as user profile, display formats, language for the application
interface, location and privacy service on the user device, or
management of cache memory. Exit Option 560 may allow the user to
close the menu page 550 and view a celebrity map directly.
[0087] FIG. 6 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity places page
600 containing a celebrity map, implemented according to one
embodiment of the present invention. Page 600 includes a navigation
panel 620 with a clickable row of tabs. Tab 621 is highlighted here
and links to the current page, tab 622 links to the favorites page,
tab 623 links to the sightings page, tab 624 links to the hotspots
page, and tab 625 links to the notifications page. Map panel 630
shows the user's own position or geolocation 631, together with
celebrity places as represented by various celebrity avatars.
Search panel 640 allows the user to search for celebrity places
near his or her own location, while results panel 650 lists
celebrities who are currently shown in map panel 630.
[0088] In some embodiments, celebrity places or celebrity
geolocations refer to celebrity residences or homes only. In other
embodiments such as the one shown in FIG. 6, celebrity places or
celebrity geolocations include celebrity residences, sighting
locations, hotspots, or any other types of geolocations associated
with one or more celebrities. In this example, six celebrity places
are drawn with celebrity avatars, although other location markers
such as colored or shaped pins may be used as well. Furthermore,
each celebrity avatar may be encircled with distinctive colors or
shades to indicate differences in the types of these celebrity
places. For example, an avatar for Alec Baldwin at celebrity place
632 may be encircled with one color to indicate that he once lived
here, but no longer owns this home at this particular location. An
avatar for Miley Cyrus at celebrity place 633 may be encircled with
another color to indicate that this is a current home for her.
Correspondingly, items 652 and 653 within results panel 650 show
celebrity names Alec Baldwin and Miley Cyrus, with a single-line
preview of information on celebrity places 632 and 633. In the case
where both past and present owners of a residence are celebrities,
the present owner's avatar may be displayed within celebrity map
630, or the list of owners may be checked against the user's
favorites so that the avatar of the celebrity of most interest to
the user is displayed instead. In some embodiments where a
touchscreen is available on a user device, an item within results
panel 650 may be removed or hidden by a swiping gesture, and the
corresponding avatar within map panel 630 would be removed as
well.
[0089] Additionally, an avatar for Marilyn Monroe shown for
celebrity place 635 may be encircled with a third color or shade to
indicate that it was owned by a legacy celebrity, who is now
deceased. An avatar for Morgan Freeman shown at celebrity place 634
may be encircled with a fourth color or a shade to indicate that it
is a hotspot that Morgan Freeman likes to stop by. As celebrity
hotspots are often public venues visited by not just one but many
celebrities, in some embodiments, hotspot 634 may be labeled with a
pin instead of an avatar, or an avatar of the place itself rather
than the avatar of visiting celebrities. Invocating a linked item
within results panel 650 corresponding to hotspot 634 may then lead
to a list of celebrities who have paid visits to this place before.
Moreover, an avatar for Tom Hiddleston shown at celebrity place 636
may be encircled with yet another color or shade to indicate that
this is a place where Tom Hiddleston has made appearances and has
been sighted by the media or the public.
[0090] While celebrity map 630 may be displayed automatically when
celebrity places page 600 is opened by the user, such automatic
display may depend on default values set by the VELVET ROPES
system, or by the user. For example, a walking figure shown as icon
639 indicates that the user prefers to view a map area traversable
on foot within a reasonable amount of time, while label 638
specifies a 2.5-mile radius around the user geolocation 631 for
drawing the map area. In some embodiments of the VELVET ROPES
system, transportation mode may be selected by clicking on icon
639, and map area 630 would change in scale accordingly. Similarly,
the size of the map area may be changed explicitly by selecting
option 638.
[0091] To generate celebrity map 630, the user device on which a
VELVET ROPES client application resides first determines user
geolocation 631, through a dedicated hardware positioning module,
or through positioning algorithms implemented on the user device.
User location information, together with other optional inputs such
as map radius and dominate transportation modes are uploaded to a
VELVET ROPES server, which in turn searches through one or more
databases within its data repository to determine celebrity places
within the map area, for display within celebrity map 630 and
results panel 650. Similarly, when a search is requested by the
user through search field 640, the search request is sent and
processed by the VELVET ROPES server. Depending on the number of
celebrity places found within the map area, the VELVET ROPES server
or the VELVET ROPES client application may intelligently filter
search results, so that the map display is legible. Alternatively,
a full list of search results may be sent back to the VELVET ROPES
client application, for listing within results panel 650, while
only a selected set of celebrity places is displayed graphically
within map area 630. In some embodiments, the user may click on
individual items within results list 650, and only selected
celebrity places are displayed within map panel 630.
[0092] Although not shown explicitly in FIG. 6, items in the
results panel 650 may be scrolled up and down, thus allowing access
to the full list within a limited display screen. Moreover, in this
embodiment of the invention, there are three floating buttons 660,
670 and 680 located at the bottom of the celebrity places page 600.
Invoking tour button 660 leads to a tours page 700 as shown in FIG.
7, engaging the user to select or set criteria for automatically
generating a tour to celebrity places displayed within map 630;
invoking menu button 670 takes the user back to menu page 500 shown
in FIG. 5; invoking filters button 680 takes the user to an
interface 900 as shown in FIG. 9 for filtering celebrity places
displayed within map 630.
[0093] FIG. 7 is an exemplary screenshot of a tours page 700, for
defining a celebrity tour according to one embodiment of the
present invention. Through tours page 700, the user may select a
criterion for automatically generating a celebrity tour. For
example, item 710 represents a most homes tour, where the largest
number of celebrity residences shown in celebrity map 630 are
included. Clicking on arrow 715 may take the user to a navigation
page 800 as will be described subsequently with respect to FIG.
8.
[0094] Similarly, the user may choose to see an A-List home tour
where residences belonging to only A-List stars are included, a
legends home tour where residences belonging to only deceased
celebrities are included, a hotspots tour that covers only
celebrity hotspots, or an all places tour, which includes all
celebrity places displayed within map 630. In addition, the user
may click on arrow 725 within the Select from list option 720, and
choose from the list of celebrity places in results list 650. The
user may also click on arrow 735 within Favorites option 730 to
choose celebrity places that the user has previously bookmarked, or
places belonging to celebrities whom the user has previously
bookmarked.
[0095] In this particular embodiment, once a tour criterion is
selected by the user, the VELVET ROPES server generates a celebrity
tour accordingly, with the user's current geolocation as the
starting point. The generated tour is transmitted to the VELVET
ROPES client application on the user device and displayed
graphically within a celebrity map. In some other embodiments, the
VELVET ROPES system may provide pre-defined tour routes starting
from and ending at popular landmark locations, similar to existing
bus tours. Such pre-defined tours may have a general theme, or
cover a set of most popular celebrity places, and may be
periodically updated to reflect current trends. For example, a
Marvel celebrity tour in Hollywood may cover places related to
celebrities who have played roles in Marvel's superhero movies; a
Democrats tour in Washington D.C. may start from the Capital Hill
and cover places related to political celebrities from the
Democratic party; a teen pop tour in Atlanta may cover places
related to teen pop stars who have made it to Billboard 100 in the
past year. Such pre-defined tours may be pre-loaded into the VELVET
ROPES client application, thus enabling offline tours when the user
does not have network access.
[0096] In yet some other embodiments, a celebrity tour may be
modified from pre-defined tours stored in the VELVET ROPES server.
For example, a hotspots tour for celebrity places near a popular
destination such as Hollywood Boulevard may be requested by many
celebrity seekers everyday. Instead of repeatedly running routing
algorithms, the VELVET ROPES server may simply modify an existing
tour according to the requesting user's geolocation by adjusting
the starting point and the order in which different celebrity
places are visited. In some embodiments, such pre-defined tours are
also pre-loaded into the VELVET ROPES client application, with tour
modifications performed within the client application as well,
again enabling offline tour generation when the user does not have
network access.
[0097] As discussed previously with respect to FIG. 4, a VELVET
ROPES server may contain independent routing algorithms that
determine a best celebrity tour path that minimizes a given cost
function such as travel distance or time, subject to constraints on
travel model and traffic conditions. A VELVET ROPES server may also
interface with external mapping APIs maintained by professional
mapping service providers to obtain optimal tour paths.
[0098] FIG. 8 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity places page
800 where a tour path 840 for a most homes tour is displayed
graphically, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
In this example, celebrity hotspot 834 and sighting location 836
are excluded from this particular tour since they are not celebrity
residences. In some examples, a sighting location may also be a
celebrity residence.
[0099] As the user chooses a most homes tour 710 from tours page
700, tour path 840 is drawn graphically within the map 830 to take
the user from his or her current geolocation 831, to the three
celebrity homes within the map area. Display panel 844 indicates
the type of tour selected, while icon 839 shows that the user has
chosen to take the tour on foot. Observe that tour path 840
traverses from the user's current geolocation 831 to celebrity
residence 832, 833, and 835, in this particular order. An
alternative tour path going from the user's current geolocation 831
to celebrity residences in the order of 835, 833, and 832 would
cover approximately the same distance, although the end location
for the two tours are different. Thus, in some embodiments,
multiple tour paths may be presented to the user using different
colors or shades within map area 830, with one tour path considered
as the default, and the user may click on any portion of a tour
path to select that particular path for use. Once a particular tour
path is selected, celebrity places list 850 is updated accordingly,
so that celebrity places are arranged according to their orders
within the tour path. Clicking start button 842 then initiates a
navigation process, where a full page view of the celebrity map may
be displayed as shown in FIG. 10.
[0100] FIG. 9 is an exemplary filter page 900 for filtering
celebrity places within a given map area, according to one
embodiment of the present invention. In cities such as Hollywood
and Beverly Hills where celebrity places are very dense, even a
small map area can contain a large number of celebrity places.
Although the VELVET ROPES system may intelligently filter the set
of all celebrity places within a given area, filter page 900 allows
the user to pick and choose celebrity places to be displayed. For
example, celebrity places may be filtered by active time for the
celebrity, where a celebrity may be a legacy, legend, or legendary
celebrity or a currently active celebrity. The user may also choose
a particular active period for the celebrity, thus enabling
customized searches for celebrities who were popular in the past
but may have become inactive in the industry. Clicking on arrow 916
may invoke a pop-up calendar for the to user to choose a desired
active period. In this particular example, the user has chosen to
see only currently active celebrities, as indicated by checkmark
915. Nonetheless, the choices are not mutually exclusive.
[0101] Additionally, the user may choose to filter celebrity places
by a general geographical location, for example, between Los
Angeles and New York. Such a feature may be useful in embodiments
where celebrity databases are implemented according to different
geographical areas. Such a feature may also be useful in cases
where data repositories within the VELVET ROPES server are
downloaded by geographical area for local offline use by the VELVET
ROPES client application. The user may further choose to filter
celebrity places by type, where for example, homes currently and
previously owned by a celebrity are selected for display.
[0102] As part of filter page 900, option 980 allows the user to
remove all filtering criteria, while option 985 confirms filer
selections, and option 990 closes the filter page.
[0103] FIG. 10 is an exemplary screenshot of a full page view of a
navigation map page 1000, with a selected tour path embedded
according to one embodiment of the present invention. Clicking on
start button 842 within celebrity places page 800 may activate this
navigation map. Observe that map area 1030 is larger than map area
830, although both are drawn with the same scale. In some
embodiments, map area 1030 is scaled automatically to maximize the
clarity of the tour path itself Additionally, zoom buttons 1005 and
1010 enable the user to view the navigation map at a scale
appropriate to the size of the display screen and according to user
preferences. In some embodiments where the user input device
includes a touchscreen, the user may pinch or un-pinch the map to
scale accordingly.
[0104] In this particular embodiment, next step panel 1020 displays
the next navigation direction to be followed by the user. Map
marker 1031 indicates the current user geolocation, as determined
in real-time by the user device. The dashed portion 1040 of the
tour path indicates the progress of the tour by referring to the
currently traversed fragment of the tour path, from the current
user geolocation to the next upcoming celebrity place. By
comparison, solid portions of the tour path refer to other path
fragments, which may include those that have already been
traversed, such as path fragment 1041. When the user does not
correctly follow the navigation directions, the VELVET ROPES system
is capable of rerouting the user to the next celebrity place, or
regenerating the tour entirely, starting from the user's new
geolocation. Observe that the problem of routing to the next
celebrity place is the same as finding an optimal path from the
current location to a single destination.
[0105] As part of navigation map page 1000, option 1050 may return
the user to celebrity places page 700, while the List steps option
1050 takes the user to view step-by-step navigations directions in
detail, as shall be discussed next.
[0106] FIG. 11 is an exemplary screenshot of a navigation
directions page 1100 presented to the user as a result of tapping a
"List steps" link on navigation map page 1000. Navigation
directions page 1100 provides step-by-step directions to celebrity
places within the selected tour. While a next step panel 1120
prompts the user on how to proceed next, a related information
panel 1130 provides information on the entire celebrity tour. For
example, label 1131 indicates that the overall celebrity tour would
take 5 minutes to drive through without stopping, label 1132
indicates that the overall celebrity tour would take 28 minutes on
foot, again without stopping at any of the locations, while label
1133 indicates that the tour covers 1.4 miles in distance. Such
summary estimates allow the user to adjust his or her itinerary if
necessary. Alternatively, in some embodiments, related information
panel 1130 provides information on the next celebrity place on the
tour. Thus, labels 1131, 1132, and 1133 refer to travel times and
distance to the next stop on the tour, instead of the last home
that ends the tour. More importantly, navigation directions page
1100 includes a directions panel 1140, listing travel directions as
well as distances in between the sequence of turning points. As
there are multiple destinations within the tour, statement such as
1146 are provided to indicate when a particular celebrity place
will be reached. Additionally, visual cues such as arrow 1145 are
also provided for upcoming turns, and option 1150 is provided for
hiding this navigation directions page 110 to return to the map
view instead.
[0107] FIGS. 12A and 12B are exemplary screenshots of a selected
celebrity place page, accessible through any celebrity map or
celebrity places list. When a celebrity avatar or map marker pin is
chosen by the user on a celebrity map, or when items in a celebrity
places list such as 650 or 850 is selected, information on the
corresponding celebrity place may be presented to the user in a
scrollable page as shown in two parts 1200 and 1250 here.
Correspondingly, tapping on a return option 1249 may return the
user to the previous page.
[0108] In some embodiments, various panels are provided in the
selected celebrity place page, in addition to a map view with or
without routing information staring from the current user
geolocation. In this particular example shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B,
a celebrity information panel 1210 shows a photo for the celebrity
associated with this celebrity place, as well as the name of the
celebrity and an address for the place. A favorite button 1220
allows the user to bookmark this particular location for future
views. In some embodiments, a like button may be available, for a
user to like or vote for a celebrity such as Alec Baldwin here, a
house, a picture of a celebrity, or any individual pictures of a
house. In addition, if the selected place is associated with
multiple celebrities who have been past owners or tenants, some or
all of the celebrity names may be listed within celebrity
information panel 1210.
[0109] Related information panel 1230 provides abbreviated
information on the selected celebrity place. In this particular
example, travel times and the current valuation for the house is
shown. Other trivia information that may be displayed within
related information panel 1230 include, but are not limited to,
travel distance, year built, number of bedrooms and baths, square
footage, price per square foot, price for last purchase, monthly
mortgage based on price for last purchase, whether the home is
listed for sale, or even whether the place has a swimming pool or
tennis court. In some embodiments, related information panel 1230
may be scrollable from left to right, or be expandable with a
dropdown list, such that more trivia information can be displayed
within the panel on a limited display device.
[0110] Links panel 1240 provides a list of relevant links on the
selected celebrity place and the one or more celebrities associated
with the place. A navigation option 1242 leads to a navigation view
such as shown in FIG. 10, or an explicit navigation page such as
shown in FIG. 11. A Check-in option 1244 indicates that 2,918
check-ins has been submitted to the VELVET ROPES system at this
location, and further allows the present user to check-in at this
place if desired. In some embodiments, selecting option 1244 leads
to a list of hyperlinked users in chronological or alphabetical
order, so the present user may see who has checked in at this
particular location at what time, their comments if any, and when
the most recent check-ins has occurred. The present user may even
exchange private messages with other users who has just checked-in
at this celebrity place to see if there are tips on where to find
the best view for taking photographs of the place. Moreover, a
celebrity profile option 1246 leads to a full profile page for the
current celebrity, as will be describe with reference to FIG. 13.
When multiple celebrities are associated with the selected place,
there may be multiple celebrity profile links correspondingly.
[0111] As photographs are the best way to preview a tourist
attraction, a photos panel 1260 links to a photo gallery of the
selected celebrity place. Photos within the gallery may be stored
in and loaded from an image database within a VELVET ROPES data
repository. Each photo may have been submitted by a professional
photographer, an individual user of the system who have visited the
selected place before, or may have been collected by the VELVET
ROPES system from online digital media sources. A user may upload
his or her own photo of this place by selecting the add option
1265.
[0112] Although user comments may be accessible through check-in
option 1244 in some embodiments of the present invention, in some
other embodiments, past user comments may be be displayed in
chronological order directly within a comments panel 1270, as shown
in page 1250. The present user may also add his or her comments by
selecting the add comments option 1275.
[0113] FIG. 13 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity profile
page 1300. In some embodiments, celebrity profiles are accessible
through a celebrity profile option such as 1246, or through a
favorite list. In this particular example, the celebrity's full
name 1310 Alec Baldwin is displayed at the top of the page, and an
image for Alec Baldwin is displayed correspondingly within
celebrity profile photo panel 1315. Such profile photos may be
stored in a celebrities or images database within a VELVET ROPES
data repository. A favorite button 1312 allows the user to bookmark
this particular celebrity for future views.
[0114] Menu panel 1320 includes a row of clickable tabs, each
providing access to appropriate information on the celebrity of
interest, Alec Baldwin. In this example, about tab 1321 is
highlighted. Correspondingly, personal and professional information
on Alec Baldwin are displayed within information panel 1330.
Celebrity profile information thus displayed may be stored
explicitly within and loaded from a VELVET ROPES celebrity
database. Alternatively, celebrity profiles may be loaded from
external media sources such as Wikipedia. Additionally, homes tab
1322 may invoke the display of a list of homes owned by Alec
Baldwin, as shall be described with respect to FIG. 14. Photos tab
1323 links to a full photo gallery, hotspots tab 1324 links to a
list of Alec Baldwin's hotspots, while feed tab 1325 links to a
stream feed on news, comments, and notifications regarding Alec
Baldwin. Furthermore, floating icon 1380 allows the user to upload
his or her own photos for the celebrity.
[0115] FIG. 14 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity's homes
page 1400, accessible through homes tab 1322, according to one
embodiment of the present invention. In this example, all
residential properties previously or currently owned by Alec
Baldwin are listed. Information panels 1410 and 1450 provide
explicit addresses for Alec's homes, with corresponding map
previews 1430 and 1470, and photo gallery previews 1420 and 1460.
In some embodiments, more facts and features are provided for each
property through the information panels. For example, price
estimates, ownership history, transaction history, year built,
square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, and nearby schools
and neighborhoods may all be itemized into a real estate profile
for display here. In cases where the celebrity owns not only
residential real estates but also commercial properties such as
restaurants, bars, and hotels, page 1400 may be viewed as a real
estate page instead of a homes page, and may contain additional
corresponding information such as purchase date, business type and
hours, specialty services provided, and the like. Option 1480
closes the page 1400 and returns the display to celebrity profile
page 1300.
[0116] FIG. 15 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity's hotspots
page 1500, accessible through hotspots tab 1324, according to one
embodiment of the present invention. In this particular embodiment,
a map panel 1510 is provided to show Alec's hotspots within a
2.5-mile radius of the user's current geolocation 1551, as
indicated by the label 1512. Here each hotspot is pinned by a photo
avatar. Although not shown explicitly, each photo avatar or similar
map marker may be encircled with different colors or shades to
distinguish the types of hotspots shown. For example, service
venues such as restaurants and bars may be marked with one color,
while performance venues such as theatres and stadiums may be
marked with another. Details on each hotspot shown in map 1510 are
provided through list 1520. Entries such as 1522 and 1524 may be
listed in alphabetical order, or according to their distances from
user's current location 1551. In some embodiments, entries within
list 1520 are ordered according to their popularity, in terms of
total number of times Alec Baldwin has visited in the past. Each
entry may be further linked to a selected celebrity hotspot page,
structured and implemented similar to the selected celebrity place
page shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B.
[0117] Although hotspots shown in page 1500 are limited to a map
area around the user's current geolocation, in some embodiments,
celebrity's hotspots page 1500 may be structured similar to
celebrity's homes page 1400, such that hotspots within a selected
city or all hotspots for a given celebrity are listed. As a result,
the user may browse through all hotspots frequented by a chosen
celebrity, obtain information on their locations and profiles, and
plan trips or tours accordingly.
[0118] FIG. 16 is an exemplary screenshot of a favorites page 1600,
showing a list of bookmarked celebrity places, according to one
embodiment of the present invention. Here favorites panel 1620
lists the user's favorite celebrity places in a default
alphabetical order, and the displayed list may be updates as a user
inputs through search field 1610 to look for a particular place in
his or her favorite list. In some embodiments, entries within list
1620 are ordered according to when the user has bookmarked each
place. Alternatively, entries within the list may be ordered by a
popularity score, where celebrity places with larger number of
check-ins, celebrity visits, images, comments, or reviews are
ranked higher. Entries within the list may also be ordered
according to their distances to the user's current location, where
the first item within the list would take the shortest amount of
time to reach if the user decides to visit places within his or her
favorites list. Additionally, items within the list may be removed
by a swipe followed by a confirmation using icon 1640.
[0119] Observe that all entries within favorites page 1600 are
celebrity hotspots, each with an explicit address and a number of
historical visits. First, in this example, each celebrity hotspot
is associated with a single celebrity only. In other words, the
same address may appear as multiple entries in list 1620, each time
associated with a different celebrity, and each time having a
different number of historical visits. Alternatively, each
celebrity hotspot may be associated with all celebrities who have
visited, where the number of historical visits is an accumulated
total, thus reflecting a higher probability of sighting one of the
associated celebrities at this location. Second, floating filter
icon 1680 enables the filtering of favorite celebrity places
through a filter page similar to the one shown in FIG. 9. In this
particular example, only hotspots are selected for display.
Alternatively, all favorite celebrity places may be displayed. As
the user may also bookmark individual celebrities, favorite list
1620 may contain individual celebrities as well.
Celebrity Sightings
[0120] FIG. 17 is an exemplary screenshot of a sightings page 1700
presented to the user by a VELVET ROPES client application,
according to one embodiment of the present invention. Similar to
celebrity places page 600, celebrity sighting locations within a
2.5-mile radius around the user's current geolocation 1701 are
displayed within map panel 1710. In this embodiment, a search field
1720 allows the user to refresh and search for most recent
sightings within his or her proximity. In some embodiments, the
user may input celebrity names within search field 1720 to look for
recent sightings of a particular celebrity nearby.
[0121] A celebrity sighting is the event where a celebrity is seen
or spotted, by the media or one or more members of the general
public. A sighting or a sighting event is associated with at least
a celebrity name, a sighting location and a sighting time. For
example, if Jimmy Kimmel appears in a road show hosted at the Nokia
Theatre in Los Angeles, and an image of him is time-stamped at
capture then uploaded by a photographer, the VELVET ROPES system
may process the image into a sighting event of Jimmy Kimmel, with
corresponding location and time information. The image would be
associated with this particular sighting event as well. Similarly,
if a user runs into Miley Cyrus on Hollywood Boulevard and reports
the event with an image or a text update, the VELVET ROPES system
may process the user sighting report accordingly.
[0122] Within map panel 1710, pins such as 1702 and 1704, with or
without celebrity avatars, are placed at sighting locations where
one or more celebrities have been spotted. In cases where more than
one celebrity has been spotted at a single sighting location, the
avatar may correspond to the most recently sighted celebrity. Each
sighing location shown in map 1710 is geo-tagged with an address or
a set of geo-coordinates. For example, sighting location 1704,
corresponding to entry 1730, may be reported by a photographer as
the Nokia Theatre. Once in the VELVET ROPES system, the VELVET
ROPES server searches for the Nokia Theatre in its databases to
determine an explicit street address 1717. In some embodiments, a
user may input an address or a nearby named place or landmark when
reporting a sighting event. Alternatively, the user device may
determine and upload longitude and latitude information to the
VELVET ROPES server, which in turn ties the geo-coordinates to a
closest known street address such as 1717. Additionally, time
elapsed since the sighting has occurred is displayed as label 1716,
and sighting event may be ordered chronologically below the map
area. The present user may further utilize add sightings icon 1740
to report his or her own celebrity sighting. By tapping this icon,
the user can report a sighting, thus adding a pin onto the map.
Filter icon 1750 allows the user to filter sighting events
displayed in map area 1710, according to filter criteria such as
celebrity name, and the amount of time elapsed since the sighting
has occurred.
[0123] FIG. 18 is an exemplary screenshot of a selected sighting
location page 1800, accessible by selecting a particular sighting
result shown in map view or list view within page 1700. A selected
sighting location is similar to a selected celebrity place
discussed with respected to FIGS. 12A and 12B. Once a sighting
location such as 1704 is chosen by the user, sighting location page
1800 is presented to the user with a navigation path starting from
the user's current geolocation 1806 to the corresponding selected
sighting location 1807. The user may choose to navigate to the
selected sighting location through option 1832 within links panel
1830. An information panel 1810 shows a photo of the selected
place, in addition to its name and address. A favorite button
allows the user to bookmark this particular location for future
views. All past celebrity visitors who have reportedly been spotted
as the selected location are listed within visitor information
panel 1820, possibly with time stamps, or historical number of
sightings at this location. Links panel 1830 provides option 1832
to navigate to the select sighting location, option 1834 to see
past check-ins by other users or to check-in at the selected
location, and option 1836 to see a full profile of the sighting
location.
[0124] FIGS. 19A to 19D are exemplary screenshots of pages for
reporting celebrity sightings, accessible through add sightings
icons 1740 or 1840, implemented according to one embodiment of the
present invention. Even though user sighting reports may only be
credible to a certain extend, a platform such as VELVET ROPES
enables users to build a fan community where dedicated celebrity
sighting information may be shared across a large fan base,
possibly in real-time. While social networking and media websites
such as Twitter and TMZ are currently available for users to search
for celebrity related information, for one, such information are
not dedicated to sighting reports, thus celebrity seekers often
have to sort through an overwhelming amount of irrelevant news to
find any sighting updates of interest to them. For two, sighting
information thus obtained are unlikely to be within the users'
proximity, thus having little effect on the users' probability of
spotting the reported celebrity themselves. By comparison, with the
VELVET ROPES system, users may see multiple real-time sighting
reports of the same celebrity within a small geographical area,
thus be able to follow such leads to meet the celebrity themselves.
For example, if a user who is waiting to pick up a friend at the
Los Angeles International Airport is notified of current sighting
reports of Jennifer Lawrence, starting from a landing gate, to a
coffee shop, to the luggage claim, the user may follow the
information and wait to see the Hunger Games star instead of simply
driving away when his or her friend shows up. With appropriate
privacy and safety measures, the VELVET ROPES system provides an
interactive sighting information platform.
[0125] To report a sighting, a user first searches through a list
of celebrities on page 1900, as shown in FIG. 19A. Celebrities
within the VELVET ROPES celebrity database are sorted, possibly by
first name in alphabetical order. As the user inputs a celebrity
name into search field 1910, names that start with the user's input
are displayed within scrollable list 1920. Instead of typing out
the full name for the celebrity, the user can directly click on the
desired celebrity name once the name appears in the list. In some
embodiments, an option is provided for the user to search for
celebrities by last name. In some embodiments, all approximate name
matches are returned in list 1920, even if the user misspells the
desired celebrity name. In some embodiments, the user may use
filter button 1925 to filter celebrity names according to age,
gender, race, nationality, occupation, years active, or similar
personal information. In other words, even if the user can not
recall the name of a spotted celebrity, the user may still find the
celebrity from the VELVET ROPES database by cross-referencing other
personal or professional information. Once the sighted celebrity is
selected, a sighting location page 1930 is automatically evoked.
Alternatively, the user may click on floating icon 1929 to cancel
the sighting report process.
[0126] Upon invocation of sighting location page 1930 as shown in
FIG. 19B, the VELVET ROPES system may automatically attempt to
determine the user's current geolocation. In some embodiments,
through triangulation techniques, a set of geo-coordinates are
established, and the closest street address such as address 1935 is
suggested. Upon selection of suggested address 1935, a sighting
photo page 1980 may be automatically evoked. The user may also
click on floating icon 1940 to return to the previous page, or on
floating icon 1950 to cancel the sighting report process. If the
user is unsatisfied with the suggested address, such as when the
user is reporting a sighting event not in real-time but when he or
she has returned home, an alternative address may be chosen through
option 1936, which evokes address page 1960.
[0127] On page 1960 as shown in FIG. 19C, the user may utilize
search field 1965 to look up the street address of a named place or
venue from the VELVET ROPES database. An on-screen keyboard 1979
may appear automatically when the user taps within search field
1965. Alternatively, the user may search for street addresses
directly. Search results are displayed within panel 1970. Each
search result is associated with at least a street address, and
possibly a name or a photo. Additionally, each search result may be
labeled with an icon to indicate the type of the geolocation. For
example, a home symbol 1972 indicates that Mi Place is a residence
such as a house a condo, while a hotspot symbol 1974 indicates that
Miller Park South is a celebrity hotspot. Floating icon 1976
enables the user to return to the previous page without selecting
an alternative address, while floating icon 1978 is only enabled
when an alternative address is chosen, with a user tap on the
enabled icon terminating the address search process and taking the
user to the next sighting photo page 1980. In some embodiments,
Pages 1930 and 1960 are merged and displayed within a single
page.
[0128] On page 1980 as shown in FIG. 19D, the user may upload a
photo and add a comment or a time stamp to the reported sighting
event. In some embodiments, selecting Upload photo option 1982
opens an additional page where the user may browse through a local
user device camera roll to select and upload one or more sighting
photos, and to add tags or comments to each photo. In some
embodiments, selecting Add a comment option 1984 brings about a
separate page or a pop-up input window for the user to annotate the
image or the sighting event itself. Additionally, the user may wish
to use an Add time stamp option 1986 to provide an explicit time
stamp to the sighting event. Selecting option 1986 may bring about
a pop-up calendar and a corresponding clock where the user can
select or input an approximate time, thus enabling non-real-time
reporting of sighting events. When option 1986 is not utilized, a
sighting event is automatically associated with the system time at
which the sighting report is generated. As shall be discussed
later, in some embodiments, each user-reported sighting requires
verification from other non-reporting users if the reporting user's
credibility score is poor. On the other hand, sighting report by a
user with a high credibility score may be uploaded to the VELVET
ROPES system directly, thus enabling non-real-time reporting, since
successful cross-verification is less likely when a significant
amount of time has passed since the sighting took place.
Celebrity Hotspots
[0129] FIG. 20 is an exemplary screenshot of a celebrity hotspots
page 2000, accessible through celebrity hotspot links such as
option 524 or tab 624. As discussed previously, celebrity hotspots
are popular places that celebrities frequently visit, and where
celebrity sightings often take place. Some exemplary hotspots
include airports, hotels, bars, clubs, lounges, restaurants,
fashion shops, and gyms. Celebrity hotspots may further refer to
locations where celebrities have made appearances, or filmed movies
or shows. A celebrity hotspot may be a celebrity sighting location
concurrently.
[0130] Structured similarly to page 1500, which is dedicated to
hotspots frequented by a single celebrity, celebrity hotspots page
2000 contains a map panel 2010, where celebrity hotspots within a
2.5-mile radius around the user's current geolocation 2011 are
displayed, and a list panel 2050, where profiles are provided for
each hotspot location. Again, each photo avatar or similar map
marker may be encircled with different colors or shades to
distinguish the types of hotspots shown. For example, some users
may be more interested in small, private venues such as
restaurants, while other users may be more interested in larger
public venues such as parks and theatres.
[0131] Entries within list 2050 are each associated with an
explicit street address and a number of historical visits. In some
embodiments, each celebrity hotspot is associated with a single
celebrity only. In other embodiments such as here, each celebrity
hotspot is associated with all celebrities who have visited, where
the number of historical visits is an accumulated total, reflecting
a higher probability of sighting any of the associated celebrity at
this location. Entries within list 2050 may be listed in
alphabetical order, according to their distances from user's
current location 2011, or according to their popularity, in terms
of the total number of visits various celebrities have paid to this
particular location, or the number of user image and comment
uploads. Each map marker within map 2010 or entry within list 2050
may be further linked to a selected celebrity hotspots page,
structured and implemented similar to the selected celebrity place
page shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B.
[0132] Similar to celebrity places page 600, multiple floating
icons are provided at the bottom of celebrity hotspots page 2000 to
enable tour generation and hotspot filtering. In this particular
example, tour icon 2060 enables the user to select from pre-defined
hotspot tours or to generate customized tours to visit a selected
set of hotspots of interest. On the other hand, filter icon 2070
allows the user to filter celebrity hotspots displayed in map panel
2010, according to filter criteria such as celebrity name, hotspot
type, or thresholds on total number of celebrity visits to the
place. Selecting or deselecting entries within list 2050 may turn
on or off corresponding map markers shown in map panel 2010.
Notifications
[0133] FIGS. 21A and 21B are exemplary screenshot of a scrollable
feed or notifications page presented to the user, according to one
embodiment of the present invention. In this example, separate
portions of the notifications page are shown in two parts 2100 and
2150. Each notification panel 2110, 2120, 2130, 2160 and 2170
contains an exemplary news update broadcasted by the VELVET ROPES
system to users who have enabled the service. Such notifications
may be displayed in chronological order as indicated by time stamps
2111, 2121, 2131, 2161 and 2171.
[0134] News updates may be user generated, or collected by the
VELVET ROPES system from various digital media sources. For
example, notification 2110 posted by user Susan Lee is a sighting
report of Tom Hiddleston, with a sighting time 2111, a user comment
2112, a sighting image 2113, and a sighting location 2114. Here
sighting time 2111 is given as 2 minutes (ago), indicating that the
sighting event has just occurred. Similarly, notification 2120 is a
user sighting report pulled by the VELVET ROPES system from
third-party social network Twitter. User Tweeter T may or may not
be a user of the VELVET ROPES system, yet her sighting reports to
the public domain is utilized by the VELVET ROPES system.
[0135] Notification 2130 is a celebrity report pulled by the VELVET
ROPES system, again from Twitter. For this particular news update,
the VELVET ROPES system monitors postings by verified celebrity
accounts or handles on different social media platforms. By
intelligently analyzing the content of a posting, the VELVET ROPES
system determines whether a celebrity posting refers to an event
where the celebrity makes a physical appearance at some known
geolocation. If the analysis result is affirmative, the celebrity
posting is broadcasted within the VELVET ROPES notification system
to users who have enabled the service. In this example, Jimmy
Kimmel attended a game by New York Mets and tweeted from Citi Field
Stadium. Tapping on notification panel 2130 may lead to an in-app
display of this particular tweet on Jimmy Kimmel's Twitter
homepage.
[0136] Notification 2160 is a user check-in at an Adrien Brody
residence, with user image and comment uploads. Notification 2170,
on the other hand, is a notification of celebrity activity.
Celebrity activities broadly refer to any changes in a celebrity's
current status. Examples include changes in residence, marital
status, agency or label. Announcements on new concert tours, new
shows, films, books, and the like are also relevant celebrity
activities that would be broadcasted by the VELVET ROPES
system.
[0137] Although not shown explicitly within FIGS. 21A and 21B, in
some embodiments, a highlight of the background of a notification
panel would signify that the item is new. The user may tap on each
item to make it as read. Alternatively, upon being presented to the
user, next time the fed is presented or refreshed, the item may be
displayed with a regular background color. In addition, a user may
filter the news feed through floating icon 2140, according to
criteria such as notification type and source. For example, the
user may choose to receive only sighting reports, only celebrity
activity notifications, or only user-generated sighting or check-in
notifications from other VELVET ROPES users that they follow. The
user may alternatively choose to receive only celebrity reports
posted by verified celebrity accounts only.
Maintaining the VELVET ROPES Server and Databases
[0138] Referring now back to FIG. 2, while the VELVET ROPES server
produces interactive celebrity maps and provides services such as
tour generation and sighting notifications, such services all rely
on information stored in data repository 280. When a VELVET ROPES
server is first established, it may perform a deep search on all
available digital media sources to built databases on existing
celebrities and historical sighting events. Nonetheless, since new
celebrities emerge and new sighting events occur on a daily basis,
it is necessary to periodically or spontaneously update databases
within repository 280 to ensure information contained therein are
up to date and as accurate as possible.
[0139] Accordingly, FIG. 22 is a flow diagram 2200 for adding
celebrities to VELVET ROPES celebrities database 282, according to
one embodiment of the present invention. The process as described
by flow diagram 2200 may be run periodically through a time-based
job scheduler according to a pre-defined update schedule, for
example, on an hourly basis. Upon initialization at step 2202, a
VELVET ROPES server retrieves lists of currently trending people at
step 2210, possibly from digital media sources such as Twitter,
MySpace, Mashable, Yahoo News, or E! Online. Some exemplary lists
include currently trending actors, teen pop idols, musical artists,
and authors. Explicit currently trending people lists such as
provided by Google Trends are also acceptable. Names within each
list are iterated through the subsequent steps in order. A given
name currently under consideration is first checked against some
general criteria to see if it refers to a celebrity at step 2220.
For example, it would be easy to verify using a quick web search
that a person who is currently trending for being the victim of a
recently happened terrorist attack is not a celebrity. If the
result of the check at step 2220 is definitely negative, the
process continues to step 2250. If the result of the check at step
2220 is affirmative or uncertain, the process continues to step
2230, where the name is checked against the VELVET ROPES
celebrities database. Again, if the result is affirmative, the
process continues to step 2250, otherwise the name is added to a
candidate list for later addition to the celebrities database at
step 2240. In some embodiments, steps 2220 and 2230 are combined
into a single combined decision. The overall process terminates at
step 2260 if all lists have been exhausted at step 2250. In some
embodiments, all names within the candidate list are added to the
VELVET ROPES celebrities database automatically. In some other
embodiments, the candidate celebrity list, once compiled, is sent
to a VELVET ROPES system administrator, who examines each name
manually to make final decisions on whether a candidate celebrity
should be added to the VELVET ROPES celebrities database.
[0140] FIG. 23 is a flow diagram 2300 for adding celebrity images
to VELVET ROPES images database 288, according to one embodiment of
the present invention. Again, the process as described by flow
diagram 2300 may be run periodically according to a pre-defined
update schedule, for example, on an hourly basis. Alternatively, a
VELVET ROPES server may be set up to receive push notifications
from digital media sources, and the process described herein may be
run whenever new images become available.
[0141] In some embodiments where the process described by flow
diagram 2300 is performed periodically, upon initialization at step
2302, the VELVET ROPES server uses a web crawler to spider or scrub
stock photography providers at step 2310 to check whether new
celebrity images are available. Exemplary stock photograph
providers include Getty Images, Shutter Stock, AP Images, and
Corbis Images. Photos thus retrieved often cover large and small
entertainment events with the most talked about celebrities, and
are tagged with celebrity names as well as event information. Each
photo is then checked against the images database 288 at step 2320
to see whether it already exists in the VELVET ROPES system. If the
result is negative, the process continues to step 2325, where the
photo is associated with a celebrity within celebrities database
282, corresponding image description and photographer attribution
are downloaded as image meta-data, and the photo is added to images
database 288. In cases where the photographed celebrity does not
exist in VELVET ROPES celebrities database 282, the celebrity name
and corresponding image may be added to a candidate list again, for
verification and addition to the system by a VELVET ROPES
administrator later.
[0142] If the image currently under consideration already exists in
images database 288, or has been added to the database through step
2325, corresponding image meta-data are analyzed at step 2330 to
see whether location and time information are available. If the
result is negative, the process continues to step 2370, and the
next retrieved image is considered until all retrieved images have
been exhausted, ending the overall process at step 2390. When
location and time information are indeed available, the image
currently under consideration represents a sighting event. Thus at
step 2340, the image is added to a celebrity sighting event, and
sightings database 286 is updated accordingly. Once a sighting
event has been added, the image source is checked at step 2350 to
determine if it is reliable. For example, a known professional
photographer would be a reliable source, whereas a new free-lance
contributor would have questionable credibility. Step 2350 may be
performed automatically through an intelligent verification
algorithm, or manually by a VELVET ROPES administrator. For a
reliable source, meta-data associated with the source would be
updated at step 2365 to continue trust within the system.
Conversely, meta-data associated with an unreliable source would be
updated at step 2360 to discourage future trust. In some
embodiments, meta-data associated with image sources include a
trust or credibility score iteratively calculated based on
historical data. In some embodiments, a credibility rating for the
image is received from the image source, or a VELVET ROPES system
administrator, and the credibility score of the image source is
updated according to the received credibility rating for the
image.
[0143] FIG. 24 is a flow diagram 2400 for adding celebrity
sightings from digital media sources to a VELVET ROPES celebrity
sightings database 286, according to one embodiment of the present
invention. In addition to periodic updates, a VELVET ROPES server
may be set up to receive push notifications, and the process
described herein may be run whenever new celebrity related postings
become available. Upon initialization at step 2402, the VELVET
ROPES server connects to a digital media source at step 2410 to
retrieve celebrity related news or postings at step 2420. A digital
media source may refer to traditional media outlets such as
DailyMail, TMZ, and Splash News, or it may refer to social media
platforms such as Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and Instagram. For
social media platforms, the VELVET ROPES server may connect to
available media APIs at step 2410, and postings on such platforms
may be time sensitive.
[0144] While celebrity news articles provided by traditional media
outlets can be easily analyzed through their titles, taglines and
keywords at step 2410 to determine the celebrity and event
involved, the retrieval process for a social media platform could
become resource inefficient if all feeds within a social media
platform are examined. Thus, for postings on social media, the
retrieval process at step 2420 may involve predefined steps or
conditions. For example, in some embodiments, handles belonging to
celebrities within the VELVET ROPES celebrities database are
checked as part of the retrieval process to see if any one or more
celebrities have announced where they currently are. In some
embodiments, search and textual analysis are performed as part of
the retrieval process to determine celebrity handles mentioned by
other users of a social media platform when the celebrities have
been spotted. In yet some embodiments, search and textual analysis
are performed as part of the retrieval process to determine
celebrity names mentioned by other users of a social media platform
when the celebrities have been spotted. Any or all of the steps as
described above may be used in parallel or in sequence to locate
relevant celebrity related postings.
[0145] For each relevant celebrity related posting thus determined,
contents of the celebrity related posting are analyzed at step 2430
to see whether location and time information are available. If the
result is negative, the process continues to step 2480, and the
next retrieved celebrity related posting is considered until all
retrieved postings have been exhausted, ending the overall process
at step 2490. When location and time information are available, the
celebrity related posting currently under consideration represents
a sighting event. Thus at step 2440, the image is added to a
celebrity sighting event, and sightings database 286 is updated
accordingly. Once a sighting event has been added, the source of
the original celebrity related posting is checked at step 2450 to
determine if it is reliable. For traditional media outlets, the
author of the retrieved news article may be taken as the source of
the posting; for social media platforms, the celebrity or user who
has made the posting may be taken as the source. Step 2450 may be
performed automatically through an intelligent verification
algorithm, or manually by a VELVET ROPES administrator. For a
reliable source, meta-data associated with the source would be
updated at step 2465 to continue trust within the system.
Conversely, meta-data associated with an unreliable source would be
updated at step 2460 to discourage future trust. In some
embodiments, such meta-data associated with posting sources include
a trust or credibility score iteratively calculated based on
historical data.
[0146] In some embodiments, an additional step may be performed
after step 2420 to determine if the celebrity has been mentioned in
sources other than the one from which the celebrity related posting
has been retrieved, and thus has been added to the system already.
The process continues to step 2430 if the answer is negative,
otherwise returns to step 2420 again to retrieve the next
celebrity-related posting, if the celebrity has been mentioned
elsewhere already.
Celebrity Sighting Reporting and Verification
[0147] While FIGS. 23 and 24 each refer to a process for adding new
sighting events to a VELVET ROPES sightings database, FIG. 25 is a
corresponding flow diagram 2500 for sending push notifications of a
celebrity sighting event to a user, according to one embodiment of
the present invention. Upon initialization at step 2502, the VELVET
ROPES server examines a new sighting event added to the sightings
database 286. At step 2510, the sighting time associated with the
sighting event is checked to determine if the sighting event has
happened in the last 24 hours. If the result is affirmative, user
preferences and settings are checked at steps 2520 and 2530 to
determine whether the user has push notifications enabled, as well
as whether the celebrity involved in the sighting event is near the
user's current location or in the user's favorites. If both
decisions return affirmative results, a push notification such as
those discussed with respect to FIGS. 21A and 21B is sent to the
user at step 2540. Otherwise the overall process terminates at step
2590, and no notifications are sent to the user. Recall from
discussion with respect to FIGS. 21A and 21B that when the user
enables notifications, he or she may also set a notification filter
to receive only a selected subset of all notifications. In the
exemplary process shown in FIG. 25, such notification filters are
implemented in terms of distance and user favorites within step
2530. For example, the user may choose to receive push
notifications on sighting events occurring within a pre-defined
radius of the user's current geolocation, where the pre-defined
radius may be 1 mile, 2.5 miles, 10 miles, or the like. In some
other embodiments, alternative filtering conditions such as types
of news source and source credibility thresholds may be implemented
instead in step 2530.
[0148] While FIG. 24 covers the process of retrieving user reports
of celebrity sightings from social media websites, FIG. 25 covers
the process of sending notifications of celebrity sightings added
to the VELVET ROPES sightings database. However, celebrity
sightings in FIG. 25 refer to not only those added through the
process shown in FIG. 24, but also those reported by users directly
through the VELVET ROPES platform. User credibility and reporting
reliability are therefore important usability measures for the
VELVET ROPES system. Consequently, inventors of the present
invention have created methods and systems for verifying user
reported celebrity sightings and updating user credibility
scores.
[0149] FIGS. 26A and 26B are a flow diagram 2600 for user sighting
report verification, according to one embodiment of the present
invention. In short, a non-reporting user may confirm a reported
celebrity sighting event if the non-reporting user also happens to
spot the same celebrity within a reasonable time frame and not far
away from the reported sighting location. In some embodiments, all
user-generated sighting reports need to be verified by at least
another user. In some other embodiments, a sighting report may be
added the system as a credible but unverified event, if the
sighting is reported by a user with an acceptable credibility or
trust score.
[0150] More specifically, as the VELVET ROPES systems receives a
user sighting report at step 2605 after initialization at step
2602, the system checks whether the user can report celebrity
sightings at step 2610. In some embodiments, step 2610 involves the
comparison of a user credibility score to a credibility threshold.
In some other embodiments, step 2610 involves the comparison of the
number of inaccurate sighting reports previously submitted by the
user to a threshold value. If it is determined that the user cannot
report celebrity sightings, the overall verification process
terminates at step 2615, and an error message is sent to notify the
user that he or she has submitted too many inaccurate sighting
reports, thus cannot participate further. If it is determined that
the user can indeed report additional celebrity sightings, the
verification process proceeds to step 2620, where the user's
credibility score based on previous sighting reports are
examined.
[0151] For a user with a poor credibility score, the present
sighting report is marked as "rumored" at step 2625. To verify a
rumored sighting report, at step 2660, the VELVET ROPES server
selects a random set of notification-enabled users within a
pre-defined mileage radius around the reported sighting location. A
verification request is then broadcasted, to inquire if users
within the selected set have seen the reported celebrity too. At
step 2670, verification responses are received by the VELVET ROPES
server and a ratio between the number of affirmative (yes) and
negative (no) responses are computed, taking time elapsed into
account at step 2675. As time passes, the likelihood of receiving
negative verification responses within a given time interval
becomes higher, but the impact of a lower yes to no ratio on the
user's credibility score would also decrease, for the reported
celebrity may have already left the vicinity of the reporting area.
Additional details on the computation of user credibility scores
shall be described with reference to the Eqns. (1) and (2), and
Table 1 hereafter.
[0152] At step 2675, if the majority of responses is negative, the
reporting user's credibility is reduced at step 2680, and the
overall process iterates again starting from step 2605 to examine
the next user sighting report. On the other hand, if the majority
of responses is affirmative, a sighting notification is broadcasted
at step 2685 to all users who have enabled push notification
services and are located within a pre-selected mileage radius
around the reported sighting location. Such pre-define mileage
radius may be set by the VELVET ROPES server or the receiving user.
The reported sighting is correspondingly marked as verified at step
2685. In addition, user credibility is increased within the system
at step 2695. In some embodiments, once a user's credibility level
exceeds a specific threshold, all future sightings reported by the
user would be considered a "credible unverified" sighting, and may
or may not require additional verification by other non-reporting
users.
[0153] Referring back to step 2620, for a user with a good
credibility score, the received celebrity sighting is marked as
"unverified" at step 2635. To verify the sighting report, at step
2640, the VELVET ROPES server broadcasts a verification request to
all notification-enabled users within a pre-defined mileage radius
around the reported sighting location, to inquire if they have seen
the reported celebrity as well. At step 2650, verification
responses are received by the VELVET ROPES server and a ratio
between the number of affirmative (yes) and negative (no) responses
are computed, taking time elapsed into account at step 2655. If the
majority of responses is negative, the reporting user's credibility
is reduced at step 2680, otherwise the reported sighting is marked
as verified at step 2685 and the reporting user's credibility score
is increased at step 2695.
[0154] Although not shown explicitly in FIGS. 26A and 26B, in some
embodiments, additional or alternative steps may be involved to
consolidate multiple user reports of the same sighting event. For
example, when multiple users report sightings of the same celebrity
at around the same time and location, verification may or may not
be necessary if at least one of the reporting users have a
credibility score above a certain threshold. In addition, if the
number of such user reports are large, it is possible to
cross-verify with or without sending out additional verification
requests to other non-reporting users. Lastly, it may be possible
to broadcast only one set of verification request for multiple user
reports of the same sighting event, and credibility scores of all
such reporting users may be updated with the same set of collected
verification responses.
[0155] Since users do not always have a VELVET ROPES client
application open at all times, a verification request may be
ignored unintentionally. Thus, in some embodiments, instead of a
dedicated verification request, a notification message with links
within the application to a verification request and more other
information is used instead. More specifically, for a user with
poor credibility, a notification of the sighting event is
broadcasted to a selected set of random users within a pre-selected
mileage radius at step 2660. Such a notification may contain a link
to inquire whether a receiving user has seen the celebrity as well.
Thus, the embedded verification request always reaches the targeted
users, since such users are selected from those who have enabled
push notifications within the system. Once verification responses
are received at step 2670, a ratio of affirmative and negative
responses are computed at step 2675. If the majority of response
are affirmative, a sighting notification message is sent to the
rest of the users within the pre-selected mileage radius. On the
other hand, if the reporting user has good credibility, a sighting
notification is always pushed out directly to all
notification-enabled users within a pre-selected mileage at step
2640, where the notification message links to a verification
request in the form of a separate verification page, a pop-up
window, an embedded line or button within the notification message
itself, or the like. In this manner, a receiving user is less
likely to turn off the notification function because he or she is
overwhelmed with multiple messages regarding the same event.
[0156] In some embodiments, user credibility or trust score as
described above is a numerical value in the range between 0 and
100, with a score of 100 indicating a high probability of the user
reporting an accurate sighting. Each new user to the VELVET ROPES
system may be assigned an initial credibility score, for example, a
score of 50, and credibility updates may be made incrementally as
time passes. Eqs. (1) and (2) below provide an illustrative example
of how user credibility score may be computed. Other update
functions are also possible.
[0157] In this particular embodiment, discrete variable t
represents time elapsed since the user report has been received by
the VELVET ROPES system, or since the sighting time; r[t] is a
time-dependent rate of decay; Y[t] and N[t] are the respective
number of affirmative(yes) and negative(no) verification responses
received between t-1 and t; c[t] is a time-dependent credibility
update value, summed over the elapsed time to obtain the updated
credibility score C[t]. C.sub.0 is an initial credibility score,
set to a value between 0 and 100; t.sub.0 is the starting time,
while T is the time at which the credibility score is computed.
Additionally, when the computed value of C[T] exceeds 100, a value
of 100 is assigned to C[T]; when the computed value of C[T] falls
below 0, a value of 0 is assigned to C[T] instead. This particular
credibility score computation may be viewed as an exponentially
weighted summation of verification response counts. Other exemplary
credibility score updates may include linearly or non-linearly
weighted summations.
c [ t ] = 100 ( Y [ t ] Y [ t ] + N [ t ] - 0.5 ) ( r [ t ] ) t Eq
. ( 1 ) C [ T ] = C 0 + t = t 0 T c [ t ] Eq . ( 2 )
##EQU00001##
[0158] Table 1 below provides an explicit numerical example of
credibility score computation based on Eqs. (1) and (2). In this
example, decay rate is set to the value of r[t]=1-0.02t; t.sub.0 is
set to 1, while T is set to 10; columns 3 and 4 within Table 1 list
sample values for Y[t] and N[t]; credibility update c[t] shown in
column 5 is computed according to Eq. (1). To compute user
credibility score at T=10, Eq. (2) may be employed with C.sub.0=50,
leading to a sum of C[10]=71.67. Observe that the value of C[t] may
be updated incrementally as more verification responses are
received over individual time intervals. In various embodiments,
the value of T may be set by the VELVET ROPES server. In other
words, the server collects verification responses for a specific
period of time, before updating the user's credibility score. The
VELVET ROPES server may also set threshold values for use within
the verification process shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B. For example, a
user with a credibility score greater than or equal to 85 may have
his or her reported sightings marked as "credible unverified"
immediately upon reporting, a user with a credibility score lower
than or equal to 30 may have his or her reported sighting marked as
"rumored" immediately upon reporting, while a user with a
credibility score between 30 inclusive and 85 non-inclusive may
have his or her reported sighting marked as "unverified"
instead.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Individual User Credibility Computation
Example Rate of Decay # of Yes # of No Credibility Time t r[t] Y[t]
N[t] Update c[t] 1 0.98 38 17 18.71 2 0.96 90 26 25.42 3 0.94 30 52
-11.14 4 0.92 28 19 6.86 5 0.90 44 60 -4.54 6 0.88 20 30 -4.64 7
0.86 90 42 6.33 8 0.84 2 6 -6.20 9 0.82 14 75 -5.74 10 0.80 7 31
-3.39
Celebrity Rating
[0159] An additional feature of the VELVET ROPES system is to
receive user ratings for individual celebrities in terms of their
general star power, popularity, influence, talent, bankability, or
even notoriety, all based on current and/or historical rating data.
Such a celebrity rating system enables the user to pick up on new
and upcoming stars, to find celebrities who have been popular for
extended periods of times, and to search for celebrities who are in
trend for one or more particular reasons.
[0160] FIG. 27 is a set of exemplary screenshots showing several
pages for celebrity rating, according to one embodiment of the
present invention. Within page 2710, which may be automatically
evoked when a user logs into the VELVET ROPES system, an image of a
celebrity such as Madonna is presented, and the user is asked to
rate her star power from A to D, as an A-List, B-List, C-List or
D-List star. In some embodiments, ratings may be polled for
categories other than star power. For example, during the week
leading up to award shows such as the Oscars or the American Music
Awards, ratings may be polled for celebrities' fashion senses. The
celebrity being rated may be one of several randomly selected by
the system and presented to the user. Such random selections may be
based on different criteria such as user interest and preferences,
or celebrity popularity rankings within the system. Moreover, in
some embodiments, the user may choose to rate his or her favorite
celebrities, or search by celebrity name to rate particular
celebrities of interest. Page 2720 is an illustrative celebrity
profile page for Tom Hiddleston, where a rating panel displays the
current standing of Tom Hiddleston as an A-List celebrity. On the
other hand, page 2730 is an illustrative ratings page, where the
top-three rated celebrities of the week are presented, and links to
separate celebrity lists are provided. Tapping on the A-List link
within page 2730 leads to an A-List of the week page 2740, showing
celebrities who have been rated as A-List for the week, possibly
with the celebrity receiving the most votes ranked first at the
top.
[0161] Consider an example where a given celebrity such as Stephen
Colbert is rated for star power. For any week or day, user votes
are collected by the VELVET ROPES server, and a percentage
computation may be performed. Table 2 below provides an explicit
numerical example, where the majority of Stephen Colbert's votes
have chosen him as an A-List celebrity. Thus, Stephen Colbert's
current standing for the week may be reported as an A-List star. In
some embodiments, the total number of votes for a given celebrity
may also be taken into account. For example, if only 10 votes have
been received for a particular celebrity over an entire week, the
voting results may be dismissed, since for one, the sampling
population is too small for the voting result to be of any
significance. For two, a celebrity with only 10 user votes over an
entire week is most-likely D-List, regardless of the percentage
computation results. In some embodiments, the top-ranked celebrity
in the list shown in Page 2740 may have the highest A-List
percentage value or the largest number of A-List votes over all
stars displayed therein.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Celebrity Rating for the Week Computation
Example This Week's Voting A-List B-List C-List D-List Total
Stephen Colbert in Latest 3109 1614 1119 1409 7251 Round
Percentages 42.88% 22.26% 15.43% 19.43% 100%
[0162] While rating or voting results for any particular week or
day may be determined through simple individual percentage
computations or vote count comparisons followed by sorting over
multiple celebrities, lifetime rating may require time-dependent
weightings to emphasize on more recent ratings. For example, Eq.
(3) below provides an A-List vote conversion example of how
historical voting results may be decay-converted. In this
embodiment, discrete variable t represents time passed since a set
of voting results have been collected; r[t] is a time-dependent
rate of decay; a[t] is the number of A-List votes received between
t-1 and t; t.sub.0 is the starting time, while T is the time at
which the Lifetime rating is to be computed; A[t] is a
time-dependent, decay-converted vote count, to be summed over the
desired Lifetime between t.sub.0 and T to obtain the total Lifetime
A-List vote R.sub.A[T] for a given celebrity. Although not shown
explicitly here, similar computations can be carried out for
B-List, C-List, and D-List votes as well. This particular celebrity
rating computation may be viewed as an exponentially weighted
summation of user votes. Other exemplary celebrity rating updates
may include linearly or non-linearly weighted summations, where
user note counts may or may not be normalized.
R.sub.A[T]=.SIGMA..sub.t=t.sub.0.sup.TA(t)=.SIGMA..sub.t=t.sub.0.sup.Ta(-
t)(r[t]).sup.t Eq. (3)
[0163] Table 3 below provides an explicit numerical example of
Lifetime A-List Vote conversion based on Eq. (3). In this example,
decay rate is set to the value of r[t]=1-0.04t; t.sub.0 is set to
1, while T is set to 12; column 3 within Table 3 lists sample
values for Lifetime A-List votes a[t]; Lifetime decay-converted
A-List votes A[t] shown in column 4 is computed as
a[t](r[t]).sup.t. At T=12, the total Lifetime A-List vote
R.sub.A[T] is decay-converted to be 29307, instead of the direct
sum of 61910. Similarly, total Lifetime B-List, C-List and D-List
votes may be decay-converted, and a percentage computation may be
performed to determine the Lifetime standing of the given
celebrity. Table 4 shows an exemplary comparison between Lifetime
votes directly summed and decay-converted votes computed according
to Eq. (3). Thus, even though Stephen Colbert has historically more
votes as a B-List star, the decay-converted votes reflects the fact
that he may have received many more A-List votes recently. Thus,
Stephen Colbert's Lifetime standing is taken as an A-List
celebrity.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Celebrity Rating Computation Example Months
Rate of Decay Lifetime A-List Lifetime A-List Votes Passed t b(t)
Votes a(t) Converted for Decay A(t) 1 1 5201 5201 2 0.96 9264 8538
3 0.92 7570 5895 4 0.88 9905 5940 5 0.84 7265 3038 6 0.80 42 11 7
0.76 1588 233 8 0.72 1847 133 9 0.68 7633 237 10 0.64 5829 67 11
0.60 3278 12 12 0.56 2488 2 Cumulative Sum 61910 29307
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Celebrity Lifetime Vote Comparisons Stephen
Colbert A-List B-List C-List D-List Lifetime Votes 61910 73960
51055 57794 Decay-Converted Lifetime Votes 29307 26895 23072
16979
Client Application on Non-Limited Displays
[0164] FIGS. 28 and 29 are illustrative screenshots of the VELVET
ROPES system when presented to the user on a non-limited display,
according to one embodiment of the present invention. A non-limited
display refers to a comparatively large screen, such as used on a
desktop computer or a tablet. FIG. 28 is a celebrity places page
2800 similar to celebrity places page 600 shown in FIG. 6. In this
example, the VELVET ROPES system is accessed through a web portal,
with a web address presented in address bar 2805. Navigation panel
2820 contains a row of clickable tabs, while user icon 2810
provides access to user profile and setting information. Map panel
2830 shows a map area around a current user geolocation, while
thumbnail listings such as 2850 provides summary information on
each celebrity place shown within map panel 2830. In addition,
filter icon 2860 allows the user to filter the displayed celebrity
places, while tour icon 2870 enables the user to select a
pre-defined or customized celebrity places tour. FIG. 29 is a tours
page 2900 similar to page 700 shown in FIG. 7, and each entry
within tour list 2950 covers a different set of celebrity
places.
Conclusions
[0165] One of ordinary skill in the art knows that the use cases,
structures, schematics, and flow diagrams may be performed in other
orders or combinations, but the inventive concept of the present
invention remains without departing from the broader spirit of the
invention. Every embodiment may be unique, and methods/steps may be
either shortened or lengthened, overlapped with the other
activities, postponed, delayed, and continued after a time gap,
such that every user is accommodated to practice the methods of the
present invention.
[0166] The present invention may be implemented in hardware and/or
in software. Many components of the system, for example, network
interfaces etc., have not been shown, so as not to obscure the
present invention. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would
appreciate that the system necessarily includes these components. A
user-device is a hardware that includes at least one processor
coupled to a memory. The processor may represent one or more
processors (e.g., microprocessors), and the memory may represent
random access memory (RAM) devices comprising a main storage of the
hardware, as well as any supplemental levels of memory e.g., cache
memories, non-volatile or back-up memories (e.g. programmable or
flash memories), read-only memories, etc. In addition, the memory
may be considered to include memory storage physically located
elsewhere in the hardware, e.g. any cache memory in the processor,
as well as any storage capacity used as a virtual memory, e.g., as
stored on a mass storage device.
[0167] The hardware of a user-device also typically receives a
number of inputs and outputs for communicating information
externally. For interface with a user, the hardware may include one
or more user input devices (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner, a
microphone, a web camera, etc.) and a display (e.g., a Liquid
Crystal Display (LCD) panel). For additional storage, the hardware
my also include one or more mass storage devices, e.g., a floppy or
other removable disk drive, a hard disk drive, a Direct Access
Storage Device (DASD), an optical drive (e.g. a Compact Disk (CD)
drive, a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) drive, etc.) and/or a tape
drive, among others. Furthermore, the hardware may include an
interface with one or more networks (e.g., a local area network
(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless network, and/or the
Internet among others) to permit the communication of information
with other computers coupled to the networks. It should be
appreciated that the hardware typically includes suitable analog
and/or digital interfaces to communicate with each other.
[0168] In some embodiments of the present invention, the entire
system can be implemented and offered to the end-users and
operators over the Internet, in a so-called cloud implementation.
No local installation of software or hardware would be needed, and
the end-users and operators would be allowed access to the systems
of the present invention directly over the Internet, using either a
web browser or similar software on a client, which client could be
a desktop, laptop, mobile device, and so on. This eliminates any
need for custom software installation on the client side and
increases the flexibility of delivery of the service
(software-as-a-service), and increases user satisfaction and ease
of use. Various business models, revenue models, and delivery
mechanisms for the present invention are envisioned, and are all to
be considered within the scope of the present invention.
[0169] The hardware operates under the control of an operating
system, and executes various computer software applications,
components, programs, codes, libraries, objects, modules, etc.
indicated collectively by reference numerals to perform the
methods, processes, and techniques described above.
[0170] In general, the method executed to implement the embodiments
of the invention, may be implemented as part of an operating system
or a specific application, component, program, object, module or
sequence of instructions referred to as "computer program(s)" or
"computer code(s)." The computer programs typically comprise one or
more instructions set at various times in various memory and
storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by
one or more processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform
operations necessary to execute elements involving the various
aspects of the invention. Moreover, while the invention has been
described in the context of fully functioning computers and
computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the
various embodiments of the invention are capable of being
distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that
the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of
machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the
distribution. Examples of computer-readable media include but are
not limited to recordable type media such as volatile and
non-volatile memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, hard
disk drives, optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD
ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks, (DVDs), etc.), and digital and
analog communication media.
[0171] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will be evident
that the various modification and changes can be made to these
embodiments without departing from the broader spirit of the
invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be
regarded in an illustrative sense rather than in a restrictive
sense. It will also be apparent to the skilled artisan that the
embodiments described above are specific examples of a single
broader invention which may have greater scope than any of the
singular descriptions taught. There may be many alterations made in
the descriptions without departing from the spirit and scope of the
present invention.
* * * * *